The Girl
by Night-Mare-Chan
Summary: Ace is bored and listless. Even with only half a year left until his journey as a pirate begins, the waiting is still hard. That is until the day when an unexpected encounter with a girl changes his summer enuui to summer love. Is this crush made to last? Or is the weight of all Ace is and was too heavy for it to bear?
1. Brothers, Bears & Chance Encounters

Ace rested on the thick tree branch and stared at the scattering of evening stars through the gaps in the leaves; absently listening to Luffy rustling around somewhere below. It was a humid night and the faint muggy breeze straining its way through the trees didn't do much to make things better.

He yawned until his jaw cracked; then blinked blearily once more at constellations he could read in his sleep; provided he kept his eyes open. He'd been studying them for his journey. Weather, too. The way the clouds moved and boiled and shifted to billow up a storm or provide fresh winds for hungry sails. Some of it he had learned from Sabo a long time ago- but last winter he'd actually gone to borrow and/or steal books as he'd needed to freshen up on things. He didn't want to go in completely unprepared.

Sabo would have been proud of him, he thought, because books were _hard._ He could read alright, but those bastards liked to use complicated words when smaller ones would do and he'd even managed to scrounge up a dictionary until he'd thought: fuck it, and just guessed instead. They were also really boring and he found himself face planting in them more often than not, ending up coughing and sneezing dust and wiping drool from soft pages. There was still a volume somewhere in the tree house he'd taken from the mayor's house but had felt bad about returning because an entire paragraph was a black blur.

He would eventually before he left.

Probably.

If he remembered.

But on the other hand it was the most boring book that had ever been written so he couldn't imagine that guy would miss it.

And of course studying anything was difficult when he had an annoying little brother demanded attention or distracted him with seeing the giant bears' winter coat or building snow forts or ice fishing or catching winter crabs to feast on.

There was more rustling down below. An alarmed croak and then… silence.

Luffy was on the prowl.

He was getting better at that sort of thing.

Ace dug absently in his nose with a pinky and yawned again. Then blew out a breath and draped further over the branch, letting both legs and his free hand dangle.

This spring he and Luffy had worked on boats; either helping some fisherman out or stealing them at night to figure out how it worked. That had been fun and they'd only lost one on a rocky shoal and had to repair it while the fisherman bleated at them until he was red in the face. Of course, it had been a pain in the ass trying to figure out which rope went where while constantly on guard for the sound of a splash that meant some rubber-headed idiot had fallen in because he'd spotted a school of fish or slipped off the masthead.

Still- once he had figured it out there wasn't much more to do except wait until he could try it out on the weather of the open sea… and Ace hadn't yet. That was still a special place. It was a destination. And if he went out there beyond this island, he wasn't sure he'd come back.

Increasingly, he was wishing he had gone and just… sailed away; out to where the world was still mysterious. He'd pretty much mastered as much of the reading as he could stomach anyway. And as for boats, it was either be on constant alert to fish Luffy out or… well go by himself. That was also a dangerous proposition. Luffy was a pain in the ass, but he kept Ace anchored to this place; to Corvo, to a promise.

Except there was nothing for him to do here. He'd seen pretty much the whole island and fought practically everything in it. Nothing was a challenge anymore and it almost felt bullying to take even the most bloodthirsty predator on. He was usually relegated to watching Luffy go at it or, on occasion, fighting alongside the beast just to keep Luffy on his toes.

Ace shifted to lay on his stomach, cheek pressed against the wood and dangled there, watching Luffy below in the gloom. He was hunting frogs. Trying to catch them without making any noise. There was a big toad that he'd had his eye on ever since summer began. It was a monster of a thing; probably big as Luffy's entire face- that was called Froggy King. But it was an old toad, wily and sneaky- with excellent hearing and a kick that could bruise.

Luffy was another problem, Ace thought as he reached down and plucked an a cluster of walnuts from a lower branch. When Ace had first gotten the idea to train up for his journey; he figured he could teach Luffy too. But Luffy couldn't read more than a few sentences without falling asleep or getting distracted by something inside or outside or doodling in the margins. He also still couldn't sail worth a damn and Ace was always tempted to strangle him because the last thing he wanted to do when he set out was to worry about Luffy being enchanted by a whatever and falling in the water with no one to help him.

Little dumbass.

Why did he have to be so careless?

Like, right now, his hat was flopping at his back, leaving his little stupid head exposed as he crept nearer and nearer to Froggy King. Bad idea.

Ace sat up, peeling the green skin away from the nut within, made sure the pointy side was down, took a few test feints… then-waiting until Luffy had almost come upon his prize, wailed it down right toward the top of his head.

"OW!" Luffy yelped, clutching the top of his head. Then: "Hey wait come back!" And launched himself toward Froggy King who kicked him square in the face, pushing it in like bread dough before bounding off to freedom.

Luffy shook his face free, just in time to be pelted with another walnut.

"Ow! Hey! Cut that out!" Luffy snapped, clapping his hat on his head and scowling up at him. "You jerk! I almost had it!"

"Looks like walnuts are dropping early this year," Ace said, grinning down at him.

"Shut up! That was you!" He jabbed his pipe up at him. "I'm going to kick your ass."

"Uh huh. And while you do that," Ace faked a huge yawn. "I think I'll take a nap."

"Bastard!" Luffy snapped, putting his pipe at his back before pulling his arms back, telegraphing his move so badly even a king tadpole could see it. "Gum Gum no SlingshoAHH!"

Ace grabbed his wrists as they came within range and yanked Luffy upward, then grinned as his face came nearer, reared back and headbutted him back down again, making sure to knock his hat off in the process.

"More like Gum Gum no Yo Yo," Ace said, pulling him back up and yo yoing him back down with his foot instead. Luffy should just be glad he wasn't wearing his shoes but then his feet were pretty sweaty.

"Augh! Gross! Cut it out!"

"Are you sure you want me to cut it out, Lu?" Ace said, frowning. Luffy responded by coming back up and taking a passing nip at his toe. Ace narrowed his eyes. Oh no he didn't. Getting away with that kind of cheating wouldn't do.

The next pass as Luffy came up, Ace heeled him down hard and then as he came shooting up once more, faster than ever, simply let him go.

"IYAAAA!" Luffy screamed, flailing upwards only to crash into an upper branch.

Then he got his foot down and twisted, spinning in midair and coming down at Ace, pulling off his pipe as he did so. Ace grinned, impressed, but managed to smother the grin as Luffy came toward him, yelling his battle cry and slinging the pipe. Ace dodged it, grabbed the length of the pipe and slung Luffy into the trunk of the tree. Then let it go and grabbed Luffy's ankle instead before he could go far, holding him up and shaking him vigorously so that his jaw knocked into the bottom of the branch, teeth rattling together like crab claws.

As expected the pipe dropped, clattering to the ground below and Ace let Luffy have some relief by lifting him up to dangle straight out. He couldn't help but snicker as Luffy's shirt then proceeded to fall over his face.

"Pathetic," Ace said.

"Shut up!" Luffy snapped, struggling to get his shirt down and then swung a wild punch at him. Ace dodged it easily and then the other one.

"Are you trying to win by boring me to death?"

Luffy growled and then shot in for a headbutt. Time slowed as, to Ace's growing horror, he realized just where that hard head was going to hit. Quick thinking and a shot of pure adrenaline saved him from a world of pain as he dropped Luffy and tipped backwards.

And then one sandaled foot clipped him on the jaw and he overbalanced, crashing hard through several branches before landing on a fern that happened to hide a really hard rock.

Fucking _ow._

Ace stifled the groan and sat up, moving past the flinching pain to stand and stalk to where Luffy was getting to his feet, pipe in hand. That wasn't going to work here. But because Luffy was his little brother and Ace loved him he cracked his knuckles and looked at him down the length of his nose, telling him quite clearly that he better run or be pummeled to oblivion.

Luffy hesitated a moment, pipe in hand and then as Ace took a step forward, yelped and bolted.

And since Luffy had nearly got him in the nads and made his back hurt, Ace took off after him; catching up quickly and grabbing the little snothead around the waist, making sure to drive the air out of him.

"I think it's time," he said ominously as he could, which was pretty fucking ominous considering the twinge in his back was helping it along.

"Time for what," Luffy wheezed, knocking him in the shins with his pipe. Ace snatched it away and then grabbed his own where it rested against the tree and rested both against his shoulder.

"Time to acquaint careless little brothers with the fire ant hill."

"What? Nooo!" Luffy flailed his feet and squirmed like an eel; but it wasn't enough.

"Yep, all in your shorts." Not that Ace would of course, but it was good to drive a good dose of fear into that thick skull so he could remember what it felt like and maybe he would remember it the next time he decided he wanted to see a jellyfish up close.

"Ahh no way! No waay!"

Ace was about to say yes and to detail all the pains Luffy would suffer when a scream rang high and thin through the night; accompanied by a roar.

"Huh, someone must be using the old road," Ace said, tapping the pipes absently against his shoulder.

"It is pretty cool! But Fluffy sounds really mad."

"That's because someone is in his territory, dingbat. Plus he probably had a crappy mating season since Thunder Thighs moved in."

"Mm." Luffy nodded. "Why do you think girl bears like Thunder Thighs better?"

Ace shrugged.

"Hell if I know." He wasn't a bear, nor a girl bear. Thunder Thighs wasn't even all that strong and his legs shook so much when Ace came anywhere near him that he wasn't even worth a fight.

Fluffy could be pretty intense, though, for Luffy anyway.

Ace set Luffy down as they emerged onto the old road, handing his pipe back to him. It was bathed in the light of the quarter moon, waning now, Ace thought; and he could see the situation clearly. There was Fluffy, standing with twenty feet at the shoulder, bellowing another roar so loud that the pebbles shivered on the hard packed earth.

Not too far in front of Fluffy was a two wheeled cart with a busted wheel, loaded with crates. A girl, presumably, was standing on the cart and ripping up open one of the crates with the claw of a hammer and grabbing something inside it.

"Take this you… you damn bear!" she said and threw it at him. A white teapot thumped against his fur and smashed onto the ground. She threw again, this time getting Fluffy upside the head and another throw of a teacup shattered against his tooth.

"Think they're playing?" Luffy said in a loud whisper.

"Doesn't look like it, Lu."

"Beat it!" the girl snapped and then shrieked and fell back as the bear shambled toward her. Ace banged his pipe against the ground to get Fluffy's attention and then glared into those small red eyes, telling the bear that if he kept going he _was_ going to be eaten. Fluffy stopped mid stride, mouth agape, just in time for the girl to swing a plate right dead center at his nose. Fluffy whuffed in surprise, scrambling back, then took another look at Ace and shambled into the forest, mowing down young saplings in his wake.

The girl sat down hard.

"I can not believe that worked," she said, breathlessly.

"Yo!" Luffy said, making the girl yelp and turn-and ruining any chance of just melting back into the forest. Not that Ace had wanted to do that but he liked having the choice anyway.

"You scared the crap out of me," the girl said, putting a gloved hand to her chest. "What that thing didn't get already anyway. Holy hell was he mad."

"It's because he couldn't mate."

"What?"

Ace growled and popped Luffy on the back of the head.

"You can't say mate in front of a girl!"

"Why not?!" Luffy grumbled, rubbing his head. "Girls mate too!"

Ace popped him again and then forced him into a bow.

"It's called being polite, dumbshit. Apologize!"

"I'm really damned sorry," Luffy said and the girl let out a sound that Ace was pretty sure was a laugh even if she was looking at them like they'd grown an extra pair of heads.

"Um… apology accepted?" she said. She shifted and the crate slid, the white stuff rattling in it and she cursed and grabbed it, settling it back into place. "Hold on one second!" And she pulled a hammer from her belt, twirled it expertly and began to nail the lid back on.

Ace let Luffy up and he immediately started toward the cart. That was fine since Ace was curious too and followed at a more leisurely pace. He didn't have much experience with girls, generally speaking- but this one seemed to fall in somewhere roughly between Makino and Dadan. Her hair was tied under a scarf like Makino and she was short. But she also wore a baggy gray jumpsuit making her look like a boy except for the belt which gave her a waist. And her hands looked big under the thick leather gloves she wore.

"What have you got?" Luffy said, peering at the crates. "Plates and stuff?"

"Oh, all kinds of different things," the girl said, wiping the sweat. "Mostly I'm just transporting the goods people paid for back in Red Reef." She sighed and hopped off the cart to go look at the broken wheel. "I was hoping to cut an hour out of my trip but it looks like that's not happening." It looked beyond repair to him and was probably even more so when she kicked it with a steel toed boot.

"We can get it back for you," Luffy said just as Ace opened his mouth. Damnit! Don't just volunteer us, he wanted to shout. Except he kind of wanted to anyway since if he let Fluffy eat her after this it would just be embarrassing.

"Really?" she said, turning hopeful eyes to Ace. She had freckles, he thought, or really hadn't washed in a while. Though he was pretty sure it was the first since girls tended to wash at least once a week or so Makino had said to Luffy once.

"I mean," she said. "If it's not a problem…"

"Nah, it's no problem," Ace said with a smile. He didn't mind and anyway it would be something interesting.

"You want to pull, Luffy, or hold it up?" Ace said, tossing the broken wagon into the back.

"I wanna pull! Let me pull!" Luffy chirped, setting his pipe down before bouncing to were the bars were.

"Oh ho…" the girl said, grinning and putting a hand to her cheek. "Do you really think you're strong enough?"

"Yup!" he said and lifted it. Ace grabbed the axle just in time, wishing the dumbass would be more careful about things.

"Stay on the road, Luffy," Ace said as they started out. "If you run off somewhere I'll feed you to the fire ants."

"I'll eat them before they eat me!" Luffy shot back. But Ace was pretty sure that he'd do as he was told.

It was then he noticed the girl wasn't with them. He looked back at her and saw standing frozen in the road and staring at them. Did she see another bear or something? She flushed, or seemed to, and hurried to catch up.

"Wow you really are strong, huh?" she said with a breathless laugh.

"Shishishi Yep!" Luffy said and Ace hated how he was so adorable. It made him want to punch him and squish his cheeks at the same time. The girl seemed to relax a bit, folding her hands behind her and once again glancing at Ace.

"So now that you know my story, what were you doing in the forest at this time of night?"

"Hunting Froggy King!" Luffy said before Ace could even open his mouth.

" _You_ were hunting Froggy King," Ace said, and was tempted to add that Luffy was failing at it but he wanted to get this girl's cart home sooner rather than later.

"Froggy King?" the girl said.

"It's a toad," Luffy said. "The biggest one in the forest. I'm going to catch him one day!"

She laughed again. It was a nice sound, Ace decided.

"If it's a toad why do you call it a Froggy King?"

"Because he's an idiot," Ace said.

"You're the one who said it was a frog! Idiot idiot!" Luffy said and Ace scowled. Why did he remember dumb little things like that?

"And what were you doing if not looking for His Majesty, the Frog?" the girl asked.

"Being dumb!" Luffy said as Ace opened his mouth. Ace glared at his hand since he couldn't see his head over the cart and promised swift and brutal retribution at the earliest opportunity… Then looked back at the girl and…

…And well didn't have an answer. Being bored was a lame answer even if it was the truth, so in the end he just shrugged.

"Nothing much."

"Sounds exciting," she said, sticking out her tongue.

"Is Reddy Rum your home?" Luffy asked and for once Ace was glad of him speaking up because he couldn't think of what to say to that.

"Red Reef. And yes. Where do you boys live?"

"Wherever we want," Luffy said. And Ace was kind of proud of him until he added: "But usually with Dadan."

That idiot. Not like it was a big secret or anything but they didn't have to go telling people either.

"Dadan?"

"She's a bandit," Luffy said and Ace gave up. There was really no point to hiding anything when Luffy was around. Anyway the girl didn't seem to believe him at all because she cast Ace an: 'isn't he cute?' smile.

"So you're big scary bandits?"

"No way! Pirates!"

"Ooh," she shivered, making an interesting movement with her shoulders. "Sounds scary! Good pirates I hope?"

"No way! We're gonna be the worst!" Luffy said cheerfully.

"Well in that case you must have horrifying nicknames to reflect your blackguard hearts."

"I'm-" Luffy started.

"No, don't tell me," she said. "Let me guess. Hmm." She tapped her gloved finger against her chin in thought, getting a smear of grease by her lips.

"Well you obviously must be BlackJack the Bloody, scourge of all the Blues and next in line to be Pirate King."

Ace felt an annoyed chill at that but set his jaw and looked straight ahead and tried not to think about it. It was only a game after all.

"Shishishi Okay!"

"And you…" she peered at Ace, head tilted to the side like a bird. "One Eyed Pete?"

"No." That wasn't even inspiring. All a guy with a name like that could brag about is that he could look in a telescope without having to wink.

"Typhoon Ted?" she said.

"Nah." Ted sounded too close to teddy and the last thing he wanted to do was remind anyone of a small soft bear.

"Freckle Faced Jerk?" Luffy said. Which was at least accurate and he would be a jerk to Luffy later, he reminded himself. Though he couldn't remember why exactly except that Luffy deserved it.

"It wouldn't work. I have freckles, too," the girl said, pressing her index fingers against her cheeks and moving them back and forth in a way that was oddly distracting. Maybe it was just funny because she left grease spots there, too.

"You're giving yourself more freckles," he said with a grin.

"What? Oh damn!" She pulled her gloves off revealing her hands weren't as big as he thought they were. Well they kind of were. But they matched her wrists and her fingers were long though she had short Dadan nails with dirt under them instead of elegant Makino ones.

"Well, you know what they say. Some for the blacksmith, some for the sails," she said in a singsong tone, grinning up at him. When he looked at her blankly she blinked at him. "Haven't you heard the song?"

"Sing it! I wanna hear!" Luffy crowed.

"Oh… Well, I don't know…" she said, her face darkening. "It's just a dumb thing."

"Luffy is a dumb thing, too," Ace said. "He'd enjoy it." He kind of wanted to hear it himself but there was no way he was saying it out loud. She gave him a furtive look that he didn't quite get, then cleared her throat, stuffed her gloves into her belt and sounded a note in her palms before singing; very lightly.

" _Some for the blacksmith, some for the sails;_

 _Coal in the buckets, tar in the pails;_

 _To build the ship and hone the sword,_

 _To plow the waves for our reward._

 _Yo ho, yo ho, yo ho my friends_

 _Into the world we go."_

"It's a pirate song!" Luffy roared, thrusting both fists up in the air. The cart dipped backward and Ace cursed end grabbed the bottom of it before all the crates could shake loose and spill into the road.

"Pay attention, damnit!" he snapped. "You want to break everything?!"

"Sorry!" Luffy said, grabbing the bars again and pushing the cart level. Ace scowled at him. Geeze. Careless idiot.

"It's alright," the girl said with a smile. "I tied them down really well. Anyway, like I said, it's just a dumb song. My grandmother used to sing it all the time."

"Was she a pirate?" Luffy asked enthusiastically. The girl shook her head.

"No, a fisherman." The girl shrugged awkwardly and looked away. "It doesn't make much sense I guess for her to sing something like that but…"

"It's a good song," Ace said. And it was. Now that Luffy wasn't giving him a heart attack he could appreciate it. He kind of wanted to hear it again. It made him feel… Something… Like… when he was watching a storm roll in from sea where the gulls wheeled and the waves kicked high; where lighting flashed and wind whipped distant flecks of rain in his face. He'd always wanted to go out there. To ride the waves. To howl back at the thunder. It was a kind of drunk feeling almost. Or at least the part where giddy heat built under his skin.

"Anyone can sing a good song," Luffy said, scattering his thoughts. "Let's sing it again!"

The girl laughed, seeming no longer embarrassed and Ace ducked his head to hide his grin. He wasn't sure why that cheered him up.

"Sounds good to me, BlackJack!" the girl said. "But if you thought that was good you're going to _love_ the second verse."

* * *

Red Reef was a small town tucked against the curve of a sheltered bay. Ace had sailed by it a few times though had never found the bay or the town particularly interesting. It wasn't that interesting now either since everything was closed up. Even the houses were dark. The only light came from the moon overhead and the small lighthouse set on a rocky part of the coast.

"There's a pothole just ahead," the girl murmured. "But it's pretty hard to see." The first words she'd spoken in a while. But it hadn't been bad walking with her in the quiet. Mostly quiet, he amended as Luffy snorted in his sleep and rolled over on the crates.

Ace spotted the pothole easily enough and maneuvered the cart so the part without the wheel would go over it instead. The girl clicked her tongue, shaking her head and giving him a bemused look.

"You are absurdly strong," she said, and Ace couldn't help but grin.

"Thanks." It felt like a compliment even if it was kind of insulting. He could carry this cart one handed if he could get the right grip on it.

"I'm beginning to think that the bear was more afraid of you than me." She shook her head. "What are you training those guns for anyway?"

His grin widened and he looked at her slantwise, trying to seem devilish.

"Piracy."

She made a face like she was trying not to smile and punched him lightly in the arm.

"Dork," she said lightly and somehow he didn't mind it at all.

They went quietly through the town and were almost outside of it when the girl veered off to the left and unlocked the doors of a barn before pulling it open with a rattle.

"In here, if you please, kind sir," she said with an elegant bow. It was teasing but it made him weirdly uncomfortable somehow.

"I'm not a sir. Or kind." He grinned. "But I'll go in I guess."

"Thanks," she said dryly.

Ace moved past her and blinked as a lantern flared to life behind him. There were no animals in this barn but crates and barrels. Some opened some shut. There was old furniture too and things under sheets he couldn't identify and not one but two bookshelves, full of really thick books.

"Is this where you live?" It seemed like a nice place.

"Hell no!" she said with a soft laugh. "I'd have to be in really dire straits to live here. No, I live with my family in the house round the back. This is our warehouse… Well mostly mine for the moment."

"Huh."

"Just set the cart there, thanks," the girl said, gesturing to an empty spot before slapping her gloves on a table and unhooking her tool belt. Ace set the cart down and then pulled Luffy closer by the ankles, grabbed his arms and settled him on his back, holding his butt up with the pipes. Luffy muttered a little in his sleep and went right back to snoring.

"Thanks for all your help," the girl said. "You really saved my butt back there."

"No problem," Ace said, looking up and freezing. She had taken off her jumpsuit and…was definitely a girl underneath. It was weird. It wasn't like he'd never seen a girl before and it wasn't like he'd never seen one in a tank top and pants before but…somehow…

The girl coughed and Ace realized he'd been staring. He looked away, looked up, hitched Luffy further on his back and tried to figure out a polite way to get out of this.

"Uh…" Nothing came to him since…thanking her with a bow seemed like it wouldn't be a great idea somehow. "See you around… I guess." Though he probably wouldn't.

"Hey… listen," the girl said, twining her fingers together. "I really owe you so… I want to do something. I can't pay you but the cafe here lets me drink on the cheap most days. If you come back tomorrow I can maybe …get you something?"

"Sure…" Ace said. Why not. He wouldn't mind. She smiled at him and he tried not to smile too much back but he had a feeling some of it escaped anyway.

"Can I get a name, too? Or do you prefer Freckle Faced Jerk?"

Ace hesitated. Somehow… he didn't want her to know. If she knew his name and he knew hers… Well he was leaving soon and it felt like…another thing to remember about this place. Or something. He couldn't even really define it to himself. But she was obviously waiting so he smirked instead.

"You tell me."

"So a man of mystery, huh," she said. She tapped her fingers against her lips again and regarded him a long moment. Her eyes were gray, he noticed absently. A kind of stormy gray. He shifted Luffy again and tried to focus somewhere else.

"Well I do love alliteration and since you are brothers and BlackJack the Bloody is already taken… how about…" She rolled her hand from side to side, then snapped her fingers. "Bjorn the Bear Bane."

He wasn't sure what a bane was though he seemed to remember it was something like hating. He didn't hate bears though.

"What about bear puncher instead." He could live with that.

"Perfect!" she said with a grin. Then rotated her fingers against her cheeks again and said, blinking at him: "What would you call me, Bjorn?"

He coughed and shrugged a little. This he knew how to handle.

"Someone told me that it wasn't wise to give a woman a nickname unless she gave it to you first." He had so much to learn from Makino still.

"That someone is very wise," the girl said with a nod. "Very well, you may call me Mistress." And she threw back her head imperiously. Ace glanced up at her. He wasn't about to call her that. Not even for a joke. She seemed to realize this and flushed, turning away to tend to her tool belt.

"Or well… Missy for short… if you want." And she shrugged.

"Sure." That he could do. …Eventually. She lifted her head a little and smiled at him. Then crossed the room quickly, carrying her tool belt.

"So see you tomorrow?" she said, opening a trunk. "Noon?" She sound almost tense. As if she was worried what he'd say.

"Sure." Damn he'd already said that. Well what else was there to say really. Her shoulders relaxed then.

"Until then… then," she said. "Good night."

"Night…" He should leave now he supposed and not stare at the sweat shining along her shoulder blades and the back of her neck.

No he really should. Before she caught him at it.

Ace walked out into the night, one leg stiffly in front of the other. Only when he got to the forest was he able to relax a little. So… a drink at a cafe with a girl huh? Yeah… yeah he could do that. It would be better than being bored anyway.

That thought in mind, Ace nodded to himself, tried his best to ignore the Luffy drool seeping onto his shoulder and headed home.


	2. Of Tea and Lizards

Ace squatted above the small collection of shirts he'd laid out on the floor and absently chewed at a piece of loose skin curling up from his thumb. He kind of wished he had more than three. But there hadn't been much of a reason to and he'd kept growing out of things so it was more of a pain in the ass to keep up with it.

Right now he had two open shirts, a yellow one with leopard spots, and black with small yellow triangles along the bottom; and an orange tank top with a tiger on it. He'd gotten it because Luffy said it looked cool and Ace had agreed at the time, but now he wasn't so sure.

He bit off the curl of skin and rested his wrists on his knees. It wasn't a big deal, really, except it was polite to look nice when someone was treating you; wasn't it? Also he was trying to develop his pirate style. If he just slapped anything together, no one would take him seriously.

Ace picked up the tank top and held it up in both hands, screwing his mouth this way and that as he regarded the tiger. It was a cool tiger, no doubt about it. It was coiled with tension, black claws out and mouth open in a bloody fanged snarl. He just wasn't sure if _he_ wanted to be a tiger. Also what if she was wearing a tank top again, too? It felt like it would be weird.

He cast that shirt aside and, after a moment's consideration, put on the black one. He'd wore the yellow one yesterday- and well-for a good week now so it could probably use some airing out. Not that he was sure about the triangles. Still, Ace thought, looking at himself the best he could. The overall effect was good. The way it framed his chest and abs showed he was strong; and it felt good against his skin and felt good to move in.

And… the sleeves were long enough to cover his tattoo. Ace rubbed his arm, feeling a tight knot of guilt well in his stomach while simultaneously annoyed at himself for feeling it. It wasn't that he was embarrassed about it or anything just… It was better not to get into it right now. That was all.

Decision made, Ace strode out into the main room. Luffy was sitting cross-legged on the floor, gnawing on a bone as he listened intently to Dogra telling him a story about the continuing adventures of Pandaman. It was the one where Pandaman arm wrestled the Great Matoi Ashite, a man with a foot instead of a hand, to see who was the strongest. One of Luffy's favorites; and it had been Ace's too. But now he was too old for that sort of thing-

Though he did like how Dogra's voice dipped, almost into a low growl as much as Dogra could growl anyway- about how their arms strained and bulged with effort, veins standing out under the skin, sweat flying off, their teeth grit hard as they struggled to achieve the ultimate victory. The ground trembled underneath their feet. The wind howled. A volcano nearby erupted into clouds of billowing smoke, overcome by their intense challenge.

All the while the stench from Matoi Ashite's foot hand grew so bad that Pandaman's struggles were increased; as his delicate sense of smell which could sniff out a fight in forty leagues, was starting to be overcome. Tears of agony slipped down his face but he kept fighting on until… on the brink of physical and mental exhaustion…

Dogra paused.

Silence fell.

Ace leaned forward and the bone splintered between Luffy's teeth.

"They still talk about that day," Dogra said with a nod. "With awe in their voices… The day when Pandaman slammed the Great Matoi Ashite's hand so hard on the table that it cracked in half and cut the entire island right through the middle."

"Woah," Luffy said. Ace couldn't help but think the same. That story always made him want to go out and fight something. But he had another mission today.

"I want to go to that island one day," Luffy said, sitting back with a content, dreamy smile. "Tell me it again!"

"No time for that," Ace said, knocking Luffy lightly on the head. "We've got to go."

"Where are we going?" Luffy said, getting up and picking up his pipe. Then eagerly: "To go find the island?"

"No, stupid. We're going to go see…" he trailed off, noticing everyone was watching him with mild curiosity. There was no way he wanted to let these dorks in on anything. "…to visit Missy."

"Oh…" Luffy blinked. "Who is that?" Oh right he'd been asleep. Of course he had.

"The one we met yesterday," Ace said, moving to grab his own pipe and tried to hustle Luffy out the door.

"Hmm. You mean the otter?"

"No."

"The frog?"

"That was a boy, dumbass," Ace said, stepping down to stub his feet into his shoes.

"Ah! You mean that girl?" Luffy said and Ace glowered at him.

"A girl?" Mogura said, looking up from where he was darning a pair of Luffy's old shorts.

"Ace is seeing a giiiirl?" the others cooed, clasping their hands, batting their eyelashes and making kissy faces at him.

Ace punched them extra hard because he had to take off his shoes to do it. Then he clocked Luffy too for good measure.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Luffy said, clutching his head. What a whiner.

"For being stupid."

"You're stupider! Stupid!" he said, aiming a kick for his shin.

"Not even a baby could be stupider than you," Ace said, kicking him back.

"Well you're stupider than a bush!" another kick.

"You're stupider than a rock!" Ace snapped back, grabbing Luffy around the neck and giving him a noogie.

"Will you brats shut your damn traps already?!" Dadan bellowed, slamming open the door to her room and glaring at them, her hair a great red bush around her face. "The sun's barely even up!"

Ace pulled down his eyelid with a finger and stuck at his tongue.

"Deal with it," he said.

"Yeah deal with it, dummy," Luffy said, making the same face. Dadan huffed at them, even her hair seeming to grow in her rage and Ace shrugged and casually pivoted on his heel to walk outside, with Dadan's bellowed:

"Well don't come back!" following them out into the misty morning.

"I like her," Luffy said, struggling to be put down.

"Me, too."

Ace let him go and Luffy bounded ahead, clambering over rocks and at one point putting his pipe at his back so he could pick up a stick. They really should lose the pipes, he thought. If not today, then soon. He didn't even need to use his any more and neither did Luffy really. Though he'd probably get beat up a lot before he got used to it.

"Do you think Misty will teach us another song?" Luffy said, crouching to watch a lizard scurry through a patch of flowers.

"Who knows. And it's Missy…" That wasn't her real name, though. He didn't _want_ to know her real name; just like he didn't want her to know his. But Luffy had a big mouth and if Ace wasn't careful they'd both end up knowing more than they wanted to.

"Hey, Luffy," Ace said, catching up and absently scooping the lizard out of the flowers to put on Luffy's head. "Let's still play the game, alright? The pretend name game."

"Why?"

Good question. Ace thought about it as he stroked the lizard's head with a finger, calming it. Its inner eye flickered. Its small toes splayed against the black of Luffy's hair. Luffy stood patiently and Ace was once again glad that Luffy _could_ be patient when he thought it was important.

Even though… Ace couldn't exactly think up a satisfying answer. The one he had wasn't enough. Wasn't _right_ somehow. And he didn't want to confuse Luffy with weird details because that would make it harder for him to pretend.

"I don't know," Ace finally said. "But it's important that we do, okay?"

"Okay," Luffy said without hesitation, but his voice was serious rather than cheerful so Ace relaxed a little.

"Thanks. Take care of your lizard."

They walked side by side for a while. A fine rain started and Luffy put his hat on, protecting his friend from the worst of it. A hat was a good look, Ace thought. Sabo had had a hat, too. Maybe he should get one. What kind of hat he wasn't sure. Definitely not a top hat, and not a straw hat even if he wanted one since that was Luffy's treasure. But something cool looking that would keep the rain off.

"By the way," Luffy said as they crossed over a tree that had fallen sometime in a spring storm, transversing the raging river underneath. "What are we going to do with Misty? Wanna take her fishing? Or maybe we can see if Snooty had her babies."

"If Snooty had her babies, she's not going to want big clomping humans around," Ace said. "Missy is going to buy us some tea from the cafe."

"Hey! I know something about that!" Luffy said, switching to walk backwards, hands behind his head. Ace pulled his hands from his pockets, prepared to catch him if he went over and then belt him a good one.

"Yeah? What do you know?"

"If you drink tea, you stick your pinky out, like this." And he demonstrated, holding an imaginary cup of tea up to his lips with his pinky extended in the air. Ace shook his head.

"Where did you come up with a dumb idea like that?"

"I saw some people do it in a tea shop once."

Ace snorted. The only place he could have seen that was in Goa.

"That's for fancy types of people, Lu, not us." And then he saw Luffy was about to put his foot on something little more than a twig. "Watch out!"

"Huh? Crap!" But it was too late. His foot came down. The twig bent and Luffy flailed, trying to regain his balance. Ace grabbed his shirt and yanked him up in the air.

"Watch where you're going, stupid!" He snapped, giving Luffy a good shake. He was leaving soon but how could he leave an idiot little brother who was always a frog's hair from drowning himself? He closed his hand into a fist to pop Luffy on the head but Luffy yelped and clutched his hands over his hat protectively.

"No! My lizard!"

Oh right.

"You could have killed your lizard by being careless," Ace said, giving him a shake instead and then carrying him the short distance the rest of the way before plunking him heavily on the ground. "Think about that for once."

"Got it…" Luffy said, sullenly, sadly, hands still over his head. Ace scowled at him and stalked ahead in an increasingly bad mood.

* * *

Fortunately Ace's mood had lifted a little by the time they got to Red Reef. The sun was out and sparkling on the water. Some boats bobbed in smooth placid waters of the bay, while further out at sea, some pleasure yacht puffed along on white cloud like sails. Luffy had cheered up too and was marching ahead, butchering the words to Missy's song. The sea wind ruffled his hair around the lizard which basked happily in the warmth. It was going to be a good day.

Ace absently wondered if he could take Missy sailing. Did she know how to? If not he could probably teach her. Though they'd have to sneak away from Luffy somehow, he thought guiltily. Or it would be another round of making sure he didn't stupid himself to death. Ace tried to steer his thoughts away from that, though, wanting to keep the light feeling in his chest.

The feeling got harder to hold on to as they went into the town itself. The villagers were out and about now- and seemed startled to see them. Or wary. Or suspicious. Why? Did these people know who they were somehow? Was it a trap? It could be. If it was, Ace wasn't going to run for it. He was going to show these assholes that trapping him was a bad idea.

"Well if it isn't Bjorn and Blackjack!" Missy's voice drifted through the air light and happy. Ace turned…

And froze.

It… it looked like her but… was it? She had the same gray eyes, almost a pale blue in the sunshine, but she wasn't wearing a kerchief over her hair and it was a short, curly, deep red that flicked against her dusky forehead.

Also she was wearing a dress. A kind of blue lacy thing. And an apron. That threw him off a little.

"Yo!" Luffy said, raising a hand. "It's been a while!"

She laughed. "It hasn't been that long. But I'm glad you came."

And she was looking at Ace when she said it. Or at least he thought she was. He wasn't sure what to say to that other than: me, too. Which sounded stupid so he just decided not to say anything.

"Look what I found," he said, pointing to his head. Missy leaned over and nodded.

"Very nice. Does it have a name?"

"Umm. Flowery!"

"I approve," Missy said, petting the lizard's back. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance Flowery."

It was cute.

Ace shifted uncomfortably and wished cute things were a little less so.

"You're welcome to come in," she said, gesturing. "Better put your hat over your friend, though." Luffy did and she smiled, waving them into the cool dimness of the cafe. It was such a change in light from the noon sun that Ace had to blink a few times until they adjusted.

Blue lacy stuff was everywhere. It was on the tables. On the counters and hanging as curtains. There were even delicate blue and lacy cakes behind the glass case; which Luffy immediately plastered his face against. There were other people here, too; looking at them disapprovingly. There were mostly girls but a few old ladies and a guy or two- none of them wore lacy frilly stuff but Ace definitely felt out of place with his shirt and his shorts and his pipe.

"Woah! It all looks so good!" Luffy said.

"It pretty much is," Missy said, gesturing them to a shadowy table in the corner with high stools. Ace sat, glad to be out of the way of everyone's staring, though that didn't stop them from doing it.

"Don't mind them," Missy said, and then over her shoulder: "They're just nosy!"

A few of them flushed but mostly all of them turned back to what they were doing except one or two of the guys but who cared about them. One of them was drinking with his pinky out.

"Anyway, here's some menus," she said. They were also blue and lacy and had little crabs in aprons on them. "I'm going to go hang my apron up and I'll be with you boys in a second."

"This place is really cool!" Luffy said, dangling his feet back and forth. "I want to try it all!"

"Well you can't," Ace said. "Pick one thing." Though maybe he'd already chosen something because he was chewing. What Luffy was chewing and how he got it, Ace didn't want to know. As for himself… he didn't know what to choose. He didn't even know what half of this stuff was. Latte, frappe, parfaits, bunt cake… What the hell was a bunt?

"Well? Do you know what you want?" she said coming back and Ace felt his face heat. He wasn't ready! He quickly tried to choose something from the menu.

"I want a supresso and a coconut cake and a sundae."

"Supresso?" Missy said, then laughed. "Oh… espresso." She coughed and waved a hand. "Sorry, we're all out of that. But I could put in an order for a coconut milkshake with all the fixings and it will be just like a sundae."

"Okay!" Luffy said and Ace was impressed with her bargaining skills.

"I want sparkling soda," he said, since he at least could figure out what it was. He really wanted cake, too. Well actually he wanted a big juicy cut of meat on a bone because he hadn't even eaten breakfast yet and his stomach felt it was caving in on itself.

"Just sparkling soda?" she said, raising her eyebrows. Ace nodded. That wasn't dumb, was it? Missy glanced at him, biting her lip a little, then said: "Would you trust me to pick out something for you? It'll be good, I promise."

"Sure," he said, relieved.

"Gotcha," she said, winking at him. "Be right back."

And she was gone again.

Ace fidgeted.

Luffy popped something into his mouth and a faint voice across the cafe said: "Hey!"

"Cut it out!" Ace hissed, remembering the lizard and punching Luffy in the arm instead. It wasn't as satisfying.

"Why?" Luffy said. Because he couldn't do it and get away with it as easily and seeing Luffy eating when he couldn't was starting to piss him off.

Oh right, there was another reason, too.

"She'll get in trouble." Probably. Anyway he didn't want to risk it.

"But I'm hungry," Luffy moaned, face planting against the table.

"Just be patient," Ace grumbled. Why did he have to make everything such a pain in the ass.

"All done," Missy said, coming back and settling herself on the stool opposite Ace, cupping a warm blue mug between her hands. "Your drinks will be coming out soon. I can only stay fifteen minutes though."

"Huh? Why?" Luffy asked, peeling his face from the table. The lizard had scampered out of his hat and Ace grabbed it and hid it in his lap before she noticed.

"I have to go back to work," she said, sipping her tea. Her pinky was sticking out and Ace couldn't help but stare at it. Maybe it was a girl thing too. He couldn't remember Makino or Dadan ever doing that sort of thing.

"I thought you hauled things around," Ace said to distract himself from it. She grinned at him.

"So you can talk," she said lightly and he flushed, wondering what she meant by that.

"And I do, but that doesn't bring in much. Neither does clamming, especially this time of year." She shrugged. "And I need to save up all I can…" She trailed off, shrugged again, smiled. "For stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Luffy asked.

"All kinds," she said. "Lots of mysterious things. But this job is to save up for the mid-summer festival because I have four little sisters and they all want something." She rolled her eyes and sipped her drink again and this time he noticed the way her lips dragged off the edge of the cup. He rubbed his sweaty palm against his pants leg.

"I want to go to the mid -summer festival! Is it fun?"

"Very!" she said. "And there's supposed to be a full moon this year… Very romantic." She was looking at Ace again now, pinning him with her eyes. There was something he was supposed to say here he had a feeling but he wasn't sure what it was. In desperation he cast a hopeless glance to Luffy who was focused on something else.

A big waiter in a blue apron carrying their drinks.

Saved.

Ace let out a breath and couldn't help but grin at Luffy's milkshake.

"Woah! Amazing!" Luffy crowed and it was. There was chocolate swirled all through it and whipped cream and sprinkles and raspberries and though Ace did not look forward to Luffy screeching through the jungle like a howler monkey for the next few hours, at least he would enjoy it.

"Looks pretty great, Luff-Jack." Shit. "BlackJack." He pressed his lips together and looked steadily away from Missy who was smirking at him, even if that meant staring at a wall. Sweat trailed down his cheek. Somehow this was Luffy's fault.

"Luff-Jack huh? Seems like an improvement."

Luffy laughed. "You're pretty bad at this, huh, A-"

"Eat your food," Ace snapped, popping him on the back of the head.

"Luff-Jack and A-" Missy leaned her chin on her laced fingers and smiled at him. "I wonder what other mysteries there are."

Why was his face heating up again? What was wrong with his face? She seemed kind of dangerous too and he had the feeling like he wanted to run away while at the same time wanted to stay right where he was.

"You'd better cool your fire, you," grumbled the waiter and Missy's sudden annoyed reaction told Ace the guy wasn't speaking to him. Though the guy doesn't seem really happy with him either. He set a small coffee cup down in front of Ace on a smaller dish filled with a brown powder and a tiny spoon on the side and then left in a huff.

"That guy is mad," Luffy said, whipped cream all over his face.

"That guy needs to mind his own business," Missy said with a toss of her hair curl out of her eyes. "Anyway forget him. You should try it. You put the cinna, the brown stuff in and stir it. It's really good. Really sophisticated."

And really small, Ace thought, disappointed. He wasn't much for sugar but he would have preferred something stuffed with fruit or meat or booze. He picked up the tiny spoon, feeling ridiculous and shoveled some in feeling more ridiculous, gripping the edge of the stool beneath him with his free hand. Then he lifted the tiny cup making sure all his fingers were pulled in because fuck the pinky thing and took a sip.

And immediately choked.

"Bitterrr!" he groaned, sticking out his tongue in hopes to drain some of it off. It was still there in the back of his mouth though and felt like it was going to dry up his gums back there like a walnut.

"Let me steal a berry, Lu," he said.

"No way!" Luffy said but Ace stole one anyway, scooped it with whipped cream and crammed it into the back of his mouth. He didn't really like sweet stuff all that much but even too sweet was better than _that._

"It can't be that bad," Missy said surprised. "Here let me." She took it from him and sipped it and made a similar face, one eye closing and her tongue sticking out.

"Ugh so damn bitter. What the hell?" She shook her head and held out her hand. "May I steal a berry, Lu?"

"No!" Luffy said, pulling his milkshake closer to himself.

Ace stole one for her with whipped cream on it, prompting Luffy to slide off the table, milkshake glass in hand and slip under it to drink in peace.

"That's the last time I order that!" she said. "My palette is fine without that sort of sophistication, I think," and she stuck her tongue out at him playfully. He… didn't quite get it though. He felt like he was missing a large chunk of the words. In fact it kind of reminded him of what Sabo would do sometimes. Just talk about things using words Ace had no hope of understanding.

"Sorry about that, though," she said, her face softening. "I was testing you out really. But you look pretty sophisticated, so…"

"No I'm not." That annoyed him somehow. The lie annoyed him. He didn't really care about being tested but to say something like that- It wasn't a compliment.

"No… you're rough around the edges…" She shook her head, blew her curls from her face. "I'm sorry, damn, I just… I'm an idiot." She knocked her knuckles against her forehead. "I just thought you'd look cool while drinking it. That's why."

He stared at her. Blinking. That didn't make any sense.

"Here," she said, sliding her cup closer to him with the tips of her fingers. "You can share mine. It's really good."

That felt weird, too. But she was looking at him intensely, but kind of looking up at him, too, underneath her eyelashes. She pursed her lips and filled her cheeks with air a little in a pout. Ace liked to look at it somehow. It was different from when Luffy pouted. He knocked his foot absently against the bar near the bottom of the stool.

The pout faded and her expression started to change. Melt into something that looked almost upset and Ace wondered if he was disappointing her. It wouldn't be a bad thing, would it? He took the cup, watching her expression shift to a smile, and took a sip. It was hot and sweet with something else in there that he couldn't identify.

"It's good," he said, setting the cup down.

"Mm. Isn't it?" She slid the cup back to herself, doing some elegant thing where she moved the cup around with her fingertips on the handle, and then lifted it herself, her lips drifting over the same place he'd drank from. Ace swallowed, hooking his feet against the stool. His ears were burning and he rubbed one absently.

"Is there booze in that?" he said, just to make sure, and she jerked, covering her mouth and swallowing before laughing.

"No! Of course not!" but she sounded delighted for some reason. "What makes you say so?"

He rolled his shoulders in a shrug. The heat spreading down his neck. He didn't really want to explain it.

"Just checking," he said, trying to sound aloof. She tilted her head and smiled at him as if she knew better. But said nothing and set the cup back on the little plate, sliding it over to him. He twisted the handle of the cup with his fingertip like she had done and took a sip from the same place. He tried to do it slow so that he could lick the rim of the cup in secret and see what it tasted like. He was kind of disappointed that it was nothing much. But maybe it felt a bit warmer.

"Maybe there's something in it after all," she said as he passed it back, looking at him with stormy gray eyes. "It tastes a lot better than usual."

"Maybe it's you," Ace said and laughed when she flushed though he wasn't sure what he'd said to make that happen. She screwed her mouth around, trying not to smile and then, grinning, kicked him in the shin; like being hit with a pillow.

"You!" she said. "I'm supposed to be the flirt here! You stop that!"

Had that been flirting? If that was true, it was pretty easy.

"It's true," he said- then got an idea. "Probably." He put a finger on the smaller plate of the cup of the bitter stuff and slid it toward her. "Should we try it?"

"Hmm I don't know, it's a risk." Her toes graced along his shin sending heated prickles through his thighs and in a way he wished she would stop but in a way he wished she never would.

"Are you chicken?" he said, trying to keep sounding detached. Her sudden smile was more thrilling than the touch.

"Not even a little." She took a small sip of it, lowering her eyes as she did. He liked her eyelashes, he decided. They were short but somehow fit her. He liked the way they flickered when she looked back up at him.

"Now you," she said and her foot rubbed against his leg. He slid the cup back to himself, twisting it, took a sip.

And recoiled, shuddering.

"Ugh! It's so fucking bitter!"

She laughed again.

"Oh you poor thing. I guess no one's charms are enough to sweeten that!"

Ace wrinkled his nose and kept his tongue out- and since there were no sweetened berries around, he grabbed the tea and chugged it down until the baked walnut gums feel was dampened somewhat.

"But you know…" she said after he set the cup down, her fingers trailed along the back of his wrist and his fingers twitched at the tickling of it. He couldn't help but stare at her fingers and short nails. "There are other things that can make it sweet."

"Yeah?" He wasn't sure anything could, but he was willing to give it a try.

Suddenly, Luffy's voice rose in an angry: "Oi!"

"Get back, you little shit!" a man snapped.

Ace looked over just in time to see one of the men kick Luffy dead center in the chest. It can't even have been hard but Luffy stumbled back, tripping over an uneven patch of floorboard and crashing into a waitress who shrieked; the tea ups sliding from her tray and smashing to the ground in a burst of white; cuts slid over Luffy's skin, bright red. He stood up, wiping tea from his face with the back of his hand.

"Give him back!" Luffy growled. "Don't hurt him."

"I don't think you deserve your little pet back, baby bumpkin," said the other guy and Ace saw the lizard's head poking out of his fist and the tail lashing frantically beneath it.

"Yeah, you should take it as your punishment for thinking you had the right to come in here," said the other one; looking directly at Ace before quickly looking away.

"Guys! Come on! Don't be assholes!" Missy said, her voice sounding far away. Ace got up from the table and very carefully brushed the waitress to the side, before standing behind Luffy. He kept hands loose at his sides, sucking in sharp shallow breaths and trying to calm the feeling of wanting to crack their skulls open.

But if they hurt that thing-

If they made Luffy cry-

"Ooh, big brother come to rescue you?" said the first guy in a simpering tone. Ace could see Luffy twist to look up at him out of his periphery but ignored him.

"Let it go," Ace said calmly. Didn't trust himself to do more than that. The men snickered at one another.

"Let it go!" Missy said. "Stop being stupid!"

"Let it go?" said the one holding the lizard, a twisted smile curling his face. He pinched the lizard's tail, then held it over the steaming cup of tea. The lizard panted, green speckled sides heaving in quick frantic bursts as it's claws splayed on empty air. "If you say so…"

He let it go.

Ace shoved Luffy out of the way and bolted across the room, having just enough time to bat the tea cup out of the way before the lizard fell, scrambling off the table at top speed. The guy yelped as the tea spilled across his lap and his face felt like oatmeal under Ace's fist. He felt the faint crunch of bone before the heavy chair crashed onto the ground; and the guy rolled out of it, howling and clutching his face, blood dripping through his fingers.

"You bastard!" the other guy snapped and leapt onto Ace's back, scrawny arm around his neck. Ace grabbed his arm and flipped the guy over his head, smashing him onto the table which snapped in half, sending the guy and dishes smashing to the floor.

"That's enough!" a man snapped and Ace felt a rough hand on his shoulder. He whirled, only barely checking his fist as he saw the big waiter guy.

"You made your point. Now get out," the waiter said, seething with anger himself and Ace clenched his teeth hard so he wouldn't punch the guy anyway. Ace jerked away from his grip. Everyone was staring at him wide eyed. The girls in their pretty dresses. The waiter. Missy. There was blood on his knuckles. Not his own.

"Let's go, Luffy," Ace said thickly.

"Wait! My lizard!" Luffy said.

"Fuck your lizard!" Ace snapped, jerking him back. "How the hell can you look after a lizard when you can't even look after yourself?! Do I have to stay here forever just to make you don't get your stupid self killed?!"

Luffy flinched, looked down, looked away, hands clenching into fists, arms trembling.

Shit.

Shit why had he just-

It wasn't even about Luffy really he just-

"Out!" the big waiter said, reaching for him.

"I'm going!" Ace snapped, knocking his hand away and stalking away. Needing to get out. Away. Before he did something he regretted…. Something _more_ he regretted. The sunlight was blinding, but Ace winced against it but kept walking.

"Wait!" she called. Ace didn't wait. Her cool hand grabbed his arm and he stopped. Not wanting to pull away. Not wanting to look at her either. He'd fucked this up. He'd fucked it all up.

"Please," she said. "It's not your fault. Those guys have been assholes ever since…" She took a breath. "Just… please I…"

"Don't go near him!" the big waiter snapped from behind. "Haven't you learned anything?"

Ace jerked away from her and started walking again. She really should stay away…

"Shut up!" she snarled then caught up to him. "I can't talk right now," she said in a low voice. "But I really want to. Come back, tonight, please? I'll wait for you by the barn. Will you?"

He should say no. He wanted to say no. But he didn't want to crush her. He'd upset enough people today. So he didn't answer at all, just shook her free and picked up his pace.

"I'll wait for you!" she called.

Why? Why did she want to wait for him? What did she want from him? Ace wanted to shake her and tell her to cut it out. Except he had a sweet feeling from those words too. Like a small flower opening just under his breastbone. He wanted to protect it even if he felt he didn't deserve it.

Ace shook his head and went steadily toward the dark welcoming forest.

* * *

The sun was setting by the time he'd managed to calm down. He hadn't fought anything. There was nothing in the forest to fight. Even busting his knuckles open on rocks only did so much and just got him more annoyed than anything. But catching and roasting a big boar had helped and now he wasn't starving at least.

He sighed, dangling his feet over the cliff, the sea crashing below. The sun was balancing on the edge of the horizon, a big orange ball- so large that Ace was sure if he had a boat he could sail out to it and touch it. But the sun was actually really far away, or so Sabo had told him once. You couldn't reach it no matter how long you sailed- unless you could somehow sail up into the sky and keep going.

He wished Sabo were here beside him. He wished he could go back to the days before the Gray Terminal burned; when Sabo was alive, when it was just adventures in the woods and getting stronger. Where the dream so far away had just felt magical and the world was full of more surprises and nothing seemed to matter for very long.

"Am I the person you thought I would be?" he asked faintly, looking down at his hands and rubbing a thumb absently over the other. He didn't expect an answer. Not anymore. For a little while after… he had imagined that maybe Sabo's spirit would answer him or he would get a feeling of a yes or a no. But when people died, they were just gone; no matter what anyone had to say about it. Nothing was left of what they had been but memories.

Ace flopped back on the grass and stared at the clouds and the single star winking in the growing blue of night. A lone gull wheeled overhead, calling, but nothing answered it. Nothing but the crush of the waves.

He should go find Luffy, he thought. But he didn't want to. He would only get mad again if Luffy cried at him. But maybe he wouldn't. Maybe he'd be just as mad at Ace for being a bad big brother and picking on him when it was Ace who had accidentally let the lizard go. It was Ace who didn't belong there in the first place. He knew it was him because Luffy could belong anywhere effortlessly.

So maybe he should just leave Luffy alone for a while. Sure Luffy didn't like being alone but he could hang out with Dadan and the others easily enough. Or even go into Windmill if he wanted and see Makino. There were so many other people that he could be with and sometimes Ace just didn't get it.

…And then there was the girl. He understood that even less. Why did she want to see him again? So much so that she was willing to wait for him? He rested a hand against the center of his chest; took a deep breath and let it out. He probably shouldn't go and see her again. He would just mess up. He was sure of it. She would regret ever saying something like that.

But… at the same time he kind of wanted to go anyway. To see what she would say. To see what she wanted. Was it selfish to want to do something like that? Maybe… But… why not…? It wasn't as if he was going to do anything. Just listen. And maybe after that it would be the end of…whatever this was. If it was anything. And maybe… he thought, lifting his hand and spreading his fingers so it seemed the star rested in the curve between his pointer and middle, maybe it would actually be okay somehow.

Maybe it would…

* * *

And then again, maybe it wouldn't.

Ace stared at the barn from around the side of a closed building, palms sweating so that he had to keep rubbing them on his shorts. It was deep night now. Midnight or a little before. The moon and stars hidden behind a scud of clouds. The only light in the town shone in a glimmering stripe below the barn door. Was she awake? Would she really wait for him all night?

Maybe she would. Maybe he should let her. After all, what could she do but be sad at him? And if she did that he would just be annoyed at her… Probably. He really didn't want to be annoyed at her. He wanted…something completely different. So maybe it was better for him to go.

Ace waited around for a little longer, expecting the light to go out. Expecting her to give up on him. But then there was a rattle which made him jump and the barn door slid open. She stood silhouetted in the warm yellow light, hand resting against the door, looking back and forth. Then folding her arms like she was hugging herself and…stayed there. Waiting. Looking lonely.

He found himself moving toward her almost before he thought about it. She straightened even before he came into the light, looking toward him hard. He stopped. Not wanting to go into the light. Wondering if this would be enough.

She took a step forward.

Hesitated.

"B…Bjorn?" she said and he wondered what she was talking about when he remembered that was his name. He nodded.

"I'm here," he said, his voice sounding distant to his own ears. He wasn't sure why. He wasn't mad. But somehow he felt like he had to hold himself back. She came up to him without hesitation; looking up at him. In the dark, everything about her was a kind of blue gray. Her expression was hard to guess. He was glad in a way.

"I'm sorry about that," she said, looking down. He was close enough to smell her hair. It smelled good. Really soft and sweet. Though it was hard to keep smelling as her fingers tugged at the edges of his shirt and made his breath catch.

"Those guys are jerks," she said. "We're so close to Goa, they like to pretend they're in it- but they're just as provincial as the rest of us."

Ace grunted, pretending like he knew what provincial meant.

"If they'd tormented my little sisters like that, I would have wailed on them, too," she said. Her fingers left his shirt and brushed cool against his chest, sending little trails of soft fire in their wake. He swallowed hard, suddenly feeling like a prey animal who had been spotted by a wolf.

"You were really good in there, too," she murmured. "I could have killed old pot belly for kicking you out."

"Thanks…" Ace said automatically. He kind of wished he had a hat to clomp on his head now, like Luffy did when he didn't know what to say. If he got one with a brim he could also shadow his face a little. Especially when she was looking up at him again, lips parted, blinking hypnotically.

He felt he was going to have to move her away really soon and go swimming or something.

"I like you," she said in a near whisper and Ace swallowed again. The words curled through him and he curled his toes a little against the ground, wondering what to do with the feeling which was making his gut tighten in a really good way.

"And I want to spend time with you," she said, her fingers reaching up to grace along his neck and sent the fuzz straight to his brain. "Not tomorrow, but the day after… do you want to come clamming with me?"

"Sure," he said, strained. Because it was the only thing he could say. It was the only thing _anyone_ could say in this situation. She grinned, then leaned against him a little to stand on tiptoe and press her very soft lips to his cheek. Ace felt like he was going to catch on fire. His head was swimming with fuzzy bubbles that burst warm in his brain and all he could do was clench and unclench his fists like a moron.

"I'll meet you here then," she murmured, dangerously close to his ear. "Day after tomorrow. At the barn."

He gave her a definite nod.

She made a soft laughing sound through her nose and then moved away from him, her hand trailing down his neck and over his chest before swinging free. He watched her go. He wanted to grab her hand and pull her back. To do what he didn't know. But something.

 _Something_.

As it was, though, all he could do was watch her walk back into the barn, wondering how women managed to walk that way, like the whole world was centered on their hips, the set of their shoulders. She stopped at the door, seeming to look at him over her shoulder. Then went inside and closed the door behind her.

It was still a long while before Ace could look away.


	3. Down By the Bay, Up On the Mountain

It was still false-dawn when Ace followed Missy down a small beaten path to a hidden cove she'd promised to show him. The trees were thinner on the ground here than up in the mountain, and shorter, and so he could see her clearly as she walked ahead of him in an easy stride. She was wearing a tank top again and pants rolled up, so that he could see the hollow of the inside of her knee as she stretched her leg to take another step. But she otherwise looked…really great from behind. He liked the way, too, she held a basket on her hip and hummed the 'blacksmith sails' song but under her breath as if she didn't think he could hear.

He would enjoy it more, maybe, if he didn't feel weirdly unbalanced. It had been fine yesterday when he'd casually been avoiding Luffy. Not that he'd made himself too hard to find and expected to stumble on him or Luffy to hunt him down. And then he'd felt irritated when neither had happened. And then had felt irritated and worried as he had been forced to hunt for his stupid little brother in case he'd somehow gotten in trouble again.

Only to find him fast asleep on Fluffy, cheek pressed against the bear's rough fur as they both dozed heavily in the evening. The fireflies had come out then and Ace still vividly remembered one walking across the bridge of Luffy's nose, winking greeny-yellow on his sleeping face before flying off. He'd left Lu sleeping, because what else was there to do, and on a whim had gone to the tree house, only to find that Luffy had set up a futon there. It wasn't too unusual. They went from Dadan's to tree house to wherever else in the wilds they decided to camp whenever the mood took them. But usually they went together.

The thing was, Ace wasn't sure what was going on with him. He didn't __think__ Luffy was mad at him. Luffy mad was really obvious. There would have been lines in the sand or bursting for a fight or creating his own country and forbidding Ace from coming over. And Ace would do whatever Luffy didn't want him to do, and they would fight and squabble and maybe make up or maybe be mad for a little while longer. But eventually they'd fall back in place, shoulder to shoulder, just like they always did.

This was new… And it didn't bother Ace. Yet. He just didn't get it.

And then he realized the girl had stopped and he had to stagger to the side a bit to avoid running into her. She turned and looked up at him, smile quirking one side of her mouth, and he wondered if he'd missed something.

"And so, dazed with dreams, she drifted out on the glittering sea, and was lost from land," she said. Ace blinked. It sounded like the end of a story; but she spoke in a kind of misty way that wasn't like any kind of story telling he'd heard.

"It's from the Lay of the White Lady," she said with a laugh. "You know, by Pleco the Younger?" She said it in a way like it should have been obvious- and he was a little embarrassed to be clueless but not stupid enough to pretend otherwise.

"Never heard of him," he said, shrugging with his hands in his pockets. She scoffed lightly and shook her head, punching his arm with her free hand.

"We've got to work on your classical education, boy," she said, teasing. "How will you make your way in the world without knowing long boring poetry?"

"I'll survive," Ace said, trying to tease back but sounding flat to his own ears. Well it wasn't really that funny and he hated feeling suddenly so different.

"You will," she said, smiling faintly. Then: "Anyway, don't worry about it. It's just a very old poem for a very common story." She stuck out her tongue. "Come on, just down here."

"What story?" Ace said, mildly curious. Because, the lay of some lady didn't sound like anything that should belong in some old poem. But it if it really was he kind of wanted to know about it. Especially since it made her face darken like that.

"It's nothing. Just a stupid kid's story, that's all."

"Kid's story?" he said dubiously and she nodded and waved her hand and said: "Here we are!" brightly. He followed her over a hump of sand and out of the trees to a cove nearly completely closed in by two pinching fingers of land. The tide was out and the air smelled like fish and seaweed. He grinned, already spotting treasures scattered out on the wet sand, some of it still covered by a thin film of water. There were little jewel like crabs sucttering back and forth, sand dollars, and best of all, a large branch of gnarled driftwood, bleached white by the sun. That would look great in the tree house.

"Oi, Lu-!" he called over his shoulder before remembering Luffy wasn't there. Ah damnit. Why did Ace have to yell at him the other day like this? Luffy would have liked this place. He then realized Missy was giving him an odd look, then smiled at him with her eyes in a way he'd only seen Makino do.

"You really like your brother, huh?" she said. "Don't move."

Ace made a noncommittal grunt. Luffy was one of his greatest treasures, but like hell was he saying it aloud to anyone- ever. Not even a cute girl. Not even a cute girl who was bracing herself against his shoulder with one hand while she took off her shoes with the other; and was just at the right angle so that his gaze slid down the line of her nose to where her… where her… chest formed a pretty line against her tank top. Like two soft warm brown eggs.

Ace's throat went dry and he swallowed, cleared it, looked away. Except when looking at the pale blue sky, his imagination remained with what he'd just seen. They were smaller than Makino's; but rounder. He thought to risk it and take another peek, just to be sure, but she moved away just in time.

"Thank you, kind sir," she said with a grin, then held out a small rake to him. "Your tool."

He took it with a smirk, toed off his own shoes, and together they went out to where there was more mud than sand. He'd never actually used one of these things before. So he watched her for a moment pull on her thick leather gloves and then pulling the rake through the mud, gathering the clams it stirred up and throwing them in the basket. He watched her for a while, the pull of her slight muscles under the skin, the shifting of her stance, the way her form curved just right.

"Dig," she said sternly, but her eyes were smiling again. He felt his face heat and looked away and dug his rake into the muddy sand, feeling the plink of shells as they caught in the tines. He dug them out and dropped them in the basket, listening to them click together like bones.

"I'm surprised your brother isn't here with you today," she said. "You two must still be fighting."

"Something like that," Ace said tightly, not really wanting to talk about it and feeling guilty all over again for what had happened. He'd have done it again though. Maybe not exactly the same but something like it.

"Well I hope you make up soon," she said. "Sometimes family is all you've got." She gave him a sad sort of smile and Ace felt a sudden jolt in his chest. Something they both understood. A connection. He wanted to say something and she seemed to be expecting something from him but he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Yeah," he said lamely, forcing a smile and then wished he had something a little better than that. Especially because she seemed to be giving him sympathetic smile in return. He looked away from her and slopped his rake down into the mud, splattering it across his shorts and she moved away a bit, digging her own rake in and plucking out clams with ease.

"So where are you going that you have to leave your poor brother behind?" she said after a moment, smirking at him over her shoulder. "Are you enlisting? Joining the Marines?"

"Hell no!" he said and she laughed, making him grin.

"What then?" she said, standing and wiping her forehead with the back of her arm. "Or is it some great mystery."

He opened his mouth. Closed it again. If she found out what it was- Well he wasn't sure. She might be okay with it and then again she might not be. Probably wouldn't be. And if she wasn't, that would be the end to whatever this was. Only Luffy could say things like that and get away with it because he looked so young and stupidly baby faced that no one took him seriously.

So in the end he shrugged. Not even wanting to say mystery because that was more Luffy's word- Of course Luffy would have more pride than that and would say: 'I want to be Pirate King' off the bat and wouldn't care whether anyone liked him after or not, the little idiot.

"Mystery it is," she said, tilting her head. "Can you tell me something else then? Where you're from? What your parents do? Your name even?"

He shrugged again. Telling her anything would just make it complicated, he felt. Why did that kind of stuff matter anyway? Why did they have to know that to spend time together?

"Suit yourself then," she said, lightly but seeming annoyed. It annoyed him, too. But he felt frustrated more than anything. Maybe this hadn't been a good idea. He wasn't going to leave. He didn't run from anything. But maybe this would be the last time he saw her. Then he could focus on getting stronger himself. Somehow…

Maybe he'd get lucky and a strong pirate group would stop at Windmill for him to take on. Or something. He raked up more clams and tossed them in the basket and so did she and they worked in silence.

It didn't take long for Ace get bored with it. If he wasn't careful he felt he'd nod off into the mud. He tossed his rake to the side and wandered further down the flats, yawning hugely and trying to wake himself up. The sun was just starting to rise now and the sky was shot through with coral pink and yellow. Ace blinked blearily at it. It was pretty but he'd appreciate it more with Luffy.

Luffy would like this place, he thought, moving the driftwood away from the tide line so he could take it home later; then went back to the flats, looking for more treasures. If Luffy were here he'd run around and chase crabs and talk- saying things that would make Missy laugh. And he'd get in trouble somehow because he always did. But even if all Luffy did was spend the morning snoozing on the driftwood, it would be more interesting than just chucking clams in a bucket.

He sighed and stared at the sand and as a trickle of tide washed some of it away, he found the sand staring back at him. Two smallish sand dollars lay side by side, seeming just as bored as he was. Ace picked them up, rubbing the wet sand off on his shorts and then as he stared at them in the palm of his hand, got an idea. Even if they were smallish they were hard to hold in place with just his face, so he had to tilt his head back a little to keep them there.

"Hey," he said, hoping she looked.

"Hm?" She laughed and he grinned. "It's a good look for you, mysterious man," she said. There was a scuffle for a moment and she said: "Look I can be mysterious too."

Ace let the sand dollars drop back into his hand so he could see. She was holding a clump of black and green seaweed over her head like hair. She pursed her lips and put her hand on her hip and rolled her shoulder at him.

"What do you think, big boy?" she said in a weird voice and Ace had to swallow a laugh. He turned away, trying to wipe the smile from his face with the back of his arm and when he looked back, said as straight faced as he could.

"I don't see a difference."

She gasped in mock outrage. " _ _You!__ How dare-! You'll pay for that!" And she threw the mess of seaweed at him. It came apart in the air and didn't get more than a few inches away from her.

"Pathetic," he said, then immediately had to dodge as she hucked a clam at him. It spun past him, splattering his stomach with mud before lodging back in the mud itself. Ace grinned, getting an even better idea. He shoved the sand dollars in his pockets for later; then scooped a handful of mud from the beach, wet enough to drip from his fingers, and turned his grin on her.

Her gasp was real this time and she held up her hands, backing up.

"Oh no you don't, Bjorn! Don't you dare!"

He dared.

She shrieked and tried to turn away but the patch of mud splatted on her hip, splashing onto her tank top and shorts and arm and went dripping down her leg.

"Good look for you," he said, his grin widening. She lifted her head, looking at him down the length of her nose and slowly pulled off her gloves.

"You will pay for this inso-Aiee!" She shrieked again as another patch of well thrown mud caught her in the stomach. " _ _Bjorn!__ " she snapped and he laughed; only to end up half choking as a splot of mud hit him on the cheek with some flying into his mouth. He hacked and spit and made a face at the taste and she tossed her hair from her eyes.

"Serves you right," she said.

"Yeah? I'll have to serve you better," he said, picking up too lumps of mud this time, as big as he could get them. She narrowed her blue-grey eyes at him and scooped up a lump of mud herself.

"Bring it," she said.

The air became thick with flying mud. She was a good shot and quicker with her hands than her feet. He got her a little more than she got him though because he could dodge better and caught her between throws. Still even if he was winning he found himself having a good time.

"Wait!" she finally said, holding up both hands. Ace paused mid-throw. She glowered at him, covered with mud, sides heaving. Then let out a wild scream that made him jump and charged at him. Ace was as startled as he was entranced at the sight of her coming over the sand at him; face screwed up in determination, arms pumping, slender legs eating up the distance. He didn't know how knees could be cute but they were somehow. He was so off guard that when she tackled him he tripped back and fell flat on his back in the mud, making a face as it squelched near his ears.

"Now then…" she said, panting, sitting up and straddling his waist. "You m-miscreant. It's time … for you… to take your medicine…" And she leaned over to scoop patches of mud from either side of his head. It was the perfect time to mush the mud he still had cupped in his hand in her face; but he couldn't stop staring at the line of her neck where it met her shoulders. The scoop of her chest, the fall of her tank top… the way it fell away from her shorts at the bottom, revealing a swath of dusky skin. He could see her naval if he tried.

"Eyes up here," she said, sitting up and he obeyed because that was a great view, too. She flared her nose at him and pursed her lips and then tossed her hair from her eyes.

"I think, sir, you have a dirty mind," she said. He grinned.

"It's cleaner than you," he said, plucking at her mud-stained shirt. She gasped then puffed her cheeks out at him. He couldn't help but laugh.

"Cackle all you want, you fiend! I'm going to clean yours regardless!" she said. "With the mud of justice!"

And she slapped both handfuls of mud against his forehead and into his hair, digging in with her fingers. Since she was close enough he slapped his handful into her hair as well; laughing again as she shrieked. But that only made her work harder to pile more mud in his hair and he added another handful to hers and slopped it over the best he could.

She wore out before he did, though, bracing her hands on either side of his head and he kept his gaze carefully on her face because she was watching him and would know if he looked down. Her gaze flickered to the side where he had another mud-ball ready, hand half raised but not sure if he should go on if she'd stopped.

"Are you finished?" she said dryly. He thought about it and then, with as straight a face as he could manage, plopped that handful on her hair too, giving it a good pat. Then, getting an idea, dug one of the sand dollars out of his pocket and stuck it in the patch of mud just above her ear.

"Perfect," he said. She gave him a look, then sat up again, arching her back a little and turning her head to the side so that her jaw and neck stood out elegantly.

"Of course it is!" She looked back at him from under her eyelashes. "I am a fashionista extraordinaire, after all." Even as she said those mysterious words, a curl of mud fell away from the curl of hair at her forehead and splatted onto his chest. There was a heartbeat of silence and then they both laughed at the same time. Hers ringing out high and far over the sea.

"You sound like a bird," he said, absently resting his hands against the side of her calves. Her laughter faded and she looked at him with a faint questioning smile, one eyebrow raised.

"In the morning," he said, hoping she didn't think he meant seagull or something. "When they say hello to each other."

"I see…" she said. And he must have gotten it right because then she leaned down, resting her elbows on the sand by his head, her chin on her fists as she smiled down at him. Ace was finding it interestingly hard to breathe. It didn't help that she was close enough for him to feel the soft push of her impossibly soft chest.

He kept his gaze trained on her eyes, though, because everything else seemed too dangerous to look at. But even they seemed magnified up close. Like soft grey-blue marble.

"You know," she said softly, her breath ghosting over his face and smelling faintly of warm tea. "I think I like you." She reached down and ran her finger along his face, from temple to jaw, leaving cold fire where it went and he tried not to swallow. "Even if you are a mystery man…" Her finger drifted over his chin, and then her thumb trailed across his jaw, her fingers whispering over his skin and he both wanted to move away from the touch and didn't want it to stop.

I know how important secrets can be…" she murmured. "So I'll accept you as you are, Bjorn the Bear Puncher."

He flushed and wanted to say that he accepted her, too, but was trying to think up a suitable title to match but she kissed him.

Ace froze, startled, but couldn't help but melt by degrees.

The kiss was soft and warm, despite her lips being a little chapped and the faint grittiness of sand. Her eyes were closed, short black lashes resting against her cheek. He should do something. Kiss her back maybe though he wasn't sure how. He __wanted__ to do something. His hands were itching to. Before he could do anything, though, she pulled back a little and looked at him.

"First time or uninterested?" she murmured.

"First-" he cleared his throat. "First time."

"Excellent," she said with a lazy smile that curled all the way through him. "Then just go with the flow and don't be offended if I correct you."

He nodded, not trusting his voice, and she cupped his jaw with her fingertips and kissed him again.

He still wasn't sure what to do exactly, so let his instinct take over. He moved his lips against hers a little, enjoying the friction and mostly the taste, though there was a hint of mud to it. He closed his eyes as they kissed again, moving with the sensation of her mouth over his, shivering at the brush of her fingertips His hands moved as if by themselves, sliding over her legs, skimming fingers over the swell of her hips. He startled a little as her tongue flicked the edge of his teeth, shifting his weight in the sand.

There wasn't as much spit as he expected so he tried to swallow his own then curled his tongue to taste the bottom of hers; letting his hands slide on the sun warmed small of her back. She made a low interesting sound which made him glad she wasn't resting a little lower- but at the same time wondered what it would be like to turn them over, to kiss her fuller, deeper. Find friction in other places he probably shouldn't be thinking about. There was a hungry feeling in his gut and lower. Though he couldn't say what specifically he wanted to do he had a general idea.

The low heat which had started when she kissed him had risen and he was sure the water that rushed in around his ears would start to boil soon from it as he moved to take her lip between his teeth, test its resistance, suck on the sweet saltiness of it. His hands moved, searching along the ridge of her spine, pushing her shirt up and he braced his heel in the sand, pushing against it, toes curling under.

"Wait," she said, pulling away, trying to sit up, pushing his hands away. He let his hands fall to his sides, staring up at her, breathing a little heavily through his mouth. She was looking down at him in a way he didn't think he'd seen. Something softer. Her lips swollen a little, eyes lowered. Even her smile was soft and reminded him of taffy or carmel, sliding warmly across her face.

"You learn fast." Her voice was low and she scooped her hair from her forehead, then made a face at the mud on her fingers though it was mostly just dried sand by now.

"Let's go swimming," she said, standing. "Before I turn into a mudball."

And she moved past him, wading into the rising water.

Ace remained where he was for a moment, feeling the warm water flow in gently around him and then pull back, tugging some of the mud free from his own hair so the strands tugged and waved comfortably against his skin. He stared at the sky but he was really thinking of how long her legs looked when she had stood over him and the way her breath had smelled. He flicked his tongue over his lip, trying to recapture the taste and absently wondered when they could do that again.

"Are you coming?" she called.

Ace pulled himself upright, making a face as his hair dripped mud onto his neck under his collar. She was standing thigh deep in the water, absently scooping up glittering handfuls of water and washing her arms. He watched her for a moment and then stood. The shirt clung to him annoyingly wet and gritty so he took it off; balled it up and threw it shoreward, not really caring if he made it or not before heading her way.

She moved deeper even as he moved toward her and finally stuck out her tongue and slipped like a seal under the water. Ace caught himself for a second looking around to pinpoint where Luffy was; then shook his head and dove into the water himself. There wasn't much to see here instead of pushing sand, but that was fine. He kept under for a bit, scrubbing the mud from his hair and surfaced to find her watching him, standing up to her chest. Her hair looked a deep burnished red now that it was free of mud and the sunlight made it seem even warmer.

He swam toward her like an alligator would, only eyes above water, trying to make the only ripples in the water come from the prow of his nose pushing through, a grin on his face as if he were ready for eating. She seemed to catch on what he was doing because she gave him a look out of the corner of her eye.

"What's with that look you're giving me?" she said, taking another step back. "Don't come at me with those predatory eyes. He raised his face from the water then.

"Or what?" he said, frogging his way a little closer. She started to swim back.

"Or you'll regret it. My foot may be pointed but it knows just where to kick." She waved it above the water as if showing him. It was, he noticed. Long at the big toe and coming down at a soft angle. He liked it. He wondered what would happen if he tickled it.

"I'll take the risk," he said, surging forward. She dropped her foot and held up a hand.

"Stop!" she said sternly. He stopped, uncertain, treading water because he had no more than a toehold here. She looked at him, lips pursed, titling her head one way, then the other as if searching for something in his face. He puffed out his cheeks at her, then lowered his head and blew bubbles into the water. She laughed.

"Dork," she said, giving his head a push. He used that to float a little closer to her, watching her. The edges of her teeth showed white against her bottom lip, but she held a finger to his breastbone, pushing herself away.

"Okay you," she said. "You get one kiss. Just one. And keep your hands at the waist. Got me?"

"Are you sure just one?" he said, happy he managed to keep his voice even and not sound excited.

"Yes, just one," she said, eyeing him for a moment before moving her finger away. He swam in a little closer, not ready yet to make the kill, instead bobbing in front of her and watching her cheeks darken.

"You might want more," he said with a grin.

"Don't get cocky," she said, and he felt her jolt as he brushed his fingers against her waist. She tossed her hair and looked down her nose at him, poking his cheek with a single finger. "Just because you're a quick learner doesn't mean you're good."

"Doesn't mean I'm bad either," he said, slipping his hand to the small of her back again. It wasn't entirely his fault he felt skin instead of cloth but maybe it was his fault a little. She pressed her palms against his shoulders, though didn't try to push him away as he leaned in, her pupils so big he felt he could fall into them.

"Oh…you're bad," she said, murmured, whispered as he moved in; remembering at the last moment to tilt his head just so.

"Great," he said with a grin, and kissed her. He made sure to be light and gentle, and was surprised when her mouth opened against his, inviting him inside. He took it, tasting her once more. Her hands slid hot over his shoulders and rested on them instead and he pulled her a little closer so their legs brushed against one another as they waded.

This felt even better than the last time. His head was feeling full and heavy. Pulse pounding in his ears. He wondered where else he could kiss. Where else he could touch. She flicked the inside of his cheek with her tongue and it tickled unexpectedly, surprising a small sound out of him. She made a small sound in return, seeming as surprised as he was. There was a moment where he felt like they were balancing on a thin taunt wire; and that with one little push they would fall into something deep and hot and wild. It was a feeling like right before he jumped off a cliff or punched a tiger in the teeth-except there was something else waiting beyond it.

She grabbed his arm again, tugging it away and he let go as they pulled apart; a trail of spit lingering between them since he'd forgotten about that a little. She stared at him, wiping the spit from her chin. Then without a word turned and dove underwater.

He dipped his own head under a few times to try to shake some of the heat loose and when that didn't work, dove himself; going as deep as he could, as long as he could. And finally his mind was occupied with other things…mostly… as the floor of the bay dipped down into a bowl, filled with little hills and valleys of its own. Sunlight shafted through the water, shining on coral beds and waving seaweed. Fish glittered and flashed between sunbeams, some fat and slow, others nervous and in small shining groups as they twitched toward food and away from predators. An octopus tenatcled its way over a nest of pink coral pipes, wearing a coconut for a helmet and Ace saluted it.

Something wriggled the seaweed and Ace wondered if it was what he thought; staying to check even though he really needed air. A flash of white told him it was and he kicked his way to the surface, seeing the veins pulse behind his eyes.

"There you are!" she said as he broke for air. She looked tense. "I thought you'd drowned or something."

"Nah," he said, breathing hard. She clicked her tongue at him but seemed to soften a little as if relieved. He grinned at her through dripping bangs. "I want to show you something. Come on."

"Okay…" she said uncertainly. He took a deep breath and dived again, making sure she was following him. Then held up a finger for her to wait before quickly swimming down to the bottom and pushing the seaweed to the side. The stone turtle glared at him dourly, chomping a jellyfish with its strong jaws. Ace gave it an apologetic shrug and picked it up, swimming it toward a patch of shafting sunlight. The stone turtle at first just seemed to be content to sit there and chew but finally it began to swim, great gray flippers churning up the water. Since it seemed like it would be heading toward the sunbeam anyway, he let it go, trying to keep an eye on it and her reaction.

The turtle looked pretty plain at the moment, not even the shell standing out too much against the blue. That was until it hit the hazy light and a million colors sparked and sparkled along its shell, winking and dazzling like a diamond, until it passed out of it again; on its way to a more secluded eating ground.

She seemed to enjoy it. Though it was hard to tell with her cheeks puffed out with air. She surfaced and Ace followed, eager to see what she thought.

"That was beautiful," she said, pushing her curled bangs back from her face. "I've never seen one of those before!"

"Jiijii said there used to be a lot of him when he was a kid," Ace said. Though he'd never said where they'd gone. Though considering how long ago that was since Jiijii was a kid, maybe that wasn't surprising.

"Ah, so you have a Jiijii!" she said triumphantly and he pressed his lips together and looked away. Woops, shit. He hadn't meant to say that. She laughed.

"Don't worry, I won't try and find out who it is. But if I happen upon him one day…" she shrugged lightly, teasing. Ace screwed his mouth to one side and ducked her under with a push to the top of his head. It didn't worry him much. Jiijii would know what to do; Ace was sure of it.

"Jerk!" she said, surfacing and sputtering, aiming a weak kick for his shin. "I'll get you for that!" She splashed him. He grinned and splashed her back. She looked as if she was about to return it when her eyes lit on something over his shoulder, and she smiled.

"There it is again. Isn't it beautiful?"

He turned and saw that the turtle had surface and was swimming flashily away from them; but what really made his breath catch was the horizon beyond it. They were closer than he'd thought to the two fingers of land that almost closed off the bay and he swum to one of the tall cliffs, resting a hand against the cool barnacle scabbed rock.

If he moved forward only a few more inches, he'd be in the sea; only the endless horizon in front of him and the low heavy white clouds that would blow in rain maybe. It wasn't like he'd never been in the sea before; but for some reason in this moment he was filled with a restless energy. What if he just swam to the next island? And then the next and the next? Got a boat somewhere? Started off before anyone expected he'd gone? What would he see? Who would he meet? Was there really crew waiting for him out there? Or would he do this grand adventure on his own?

He imagined Sabo beside him, resting against the other cliff, staring out to see with him, sharing the same great sense of adventure, almost overwhelming but in a way that made him want to woop. Sabo was taller in his imagination, but otherwise the same, giving him the broken toothed smile and saying in that happy way of his:

'One day, eh, Ace? One day it will be us out there.'

And it would be. He rested a hand on the tattoo, knowing instinctively where it was, the Jolly Roger that was Sabo's spirit so that they could both go out into the wild blue where they'd always dreamed to go.

"Come back," she whispered in his ear and he shivered as he felt her fingers slide up his spine. "Don't go just yet, sailor boy. The day is still young. The bloom still fresh."

He didn't want to come back.

But he couldn't go, he reminded himself. Not just now. For one thing Luffy would never forgive him if he left without saying goodbye. And he had to make sure Luffy was strong enough first. He reminded himself of that and pulled himself back, turning away from the horizon to look at her. Compared to the blue of the sea hers were a more flat gray, like stone turtle skin or rock walls.

"Help me get my clams back first, will you?" she said softly, reaching up and running her thumb over his lower lip. "It's a long way home to go by myself."

It wasn't that far but he knew what she was saying. He grinned and tried to catch her thumb in his teeth but she moved it away before he could, twitching her finger back and forth at him. Then she grabbed his hand.

"Come on," she said, pulling at him. "I'll feed you lunch."

* * *

Twilight was settling in by the time Ace was making his way back up the mountain. He hummed to himself the blacksmith song she had taught him and absently bumped the small bag of clams against his thigh. Overhead the clouds rolled in, twisting like slow smoke, the trees sighed in the wind which smelled of rain. He was still a little sticky with salt even though they'd taken the time to splash around in a stream that fed into the bay and he'd gotten to see her tank top cling to her form more clearly and had been glad how freezing cold the water was.

Then they had built a small fire on the beach and had baked fish and talked of almost nothing before heading back to Red Reef a little after noon. Though she'd said goodbye to him where the village was still mostly hidden by the trees. In a few days, they were going to have a picnic, she had said. So he should make up with his little brother so he could come along too. She'd be expecting it. And he couldn't help but feel warmed a little that she cared for Luffy, too. Well, everyone did in the end.

After she'd left Ace had climbed a tree and watched the village and more to the point, her. Trying to see who her family was. Who she knew. Who she liked and didn't. Only that had been hard since he'd kept falling asleep and after had just given up and dozed on the branch until an owl perching on his butt had startled the hell out of him. He'd almost fallen out of the tree completely but no one had noticed him hanging onto the branch until he could get his footing on the one below.

Anyway, he was in a good mood now. Better than he'd felt in a while. A few days was going to be a long time to wait- but he could use that time to get some new shirts and maybe even a new pair of shorts. It wasn't that he wanted to impress her or anything but… he had to maintain a look; that was all. Part of his growing pride as a pirate or something. And maybe she'd comment on it and maybe she'd tug at the cloth and say he looked good in it and lean in so he could taste brush of her breath…

And he could give her alligator eyes again and kiss her and maybe she'd like that.

Heh.

A roar bellowed through the forest, echoing down the mountainside and scattering his thoughts. Ace's first, and almost hopeful, thought, was that she had been coming to see him and got into trouble again. But too soon after the roar was followed by a familiar shrill battle cry. There was a moment of silence and then a sharp crack and groan like a tree had fallen over.

Ace grinned to himself and tied the clams to his belt so he could follow the sound of the fight and hopefully catch it in time. Though he didn't hurry too much, since even with all the echoes that tended to bounce around in a place like this; he knew the area well and Luffy, as always, was predictable.

Within ten minutes he'd found the clearing by the old road and stopped to catch his breath a little. Luffy and Fluffy stood in a ever widening clearing, cracked and broken trees around them. Luffy had been caught more than once on the bear's large claws but Fluffy had a few bruises as well, a lump on his head, and a dark purple grape of a black eye. Ace grinned and leaned against a tree as bear and brother circled one another, eyeing one another warily. Tension was thick in the air.

Almost too thick.

Ace was tempted to yell at Luffy to go for it already, but Luffy shifted, telegraphing his move even as he caged his fist.

"GUM GUM NO BULLET!" he yelled, almost as deafening as Fluffy's roar as the bear charged, the ground trembling from his weight.

"ORYAAAA!"

"RAAWRRRR!"

Luffy's fist flew and Fluffy's paw swept down and Ace laughed as they got each other in the face at the same time and went hurtling back in opposite directions, cracking more trees as they went. Those idiots. Ace shucked a clam and ate it and wondered absently what they were fighting about. It was unusual for Luffy to fight an animal this long unless he had a reason. Had Fluffy eaten his food maybe? Or slept in his spot? Peed on his favorite blanket? Maybe he'd find out once Luffy had one or they were both too exhausted to continue.

That time didn't seem to be anytime soon however. Luffy slid to the ground, sagging but pulling himself upright and plopping his hat on. The bear sat up, rubbing his head. Luffy spat out blood. Fluffy spat out a tooth. Ace was mildly impressed in spite of himself. They began to circle one another again though this time Luffy had a black eye as well.

Fluffy snarled and started forward and something cracked under his paw, like the crunching of small sticks. It didn't seem like much to Ace, but Fluffy and Luffy froze almost at the same instant. The bear's ears went back and he lifted his massive paw. Luffy frowned and crouched beside it, hat shading his face. Ace frowned. Was it some small animal? Had Fluffy killed his lizard? Ace crept a little closer to see…

But it just looked like a little pile of twigs and stuff in Luffy's hand. Some of it was constructed like it was a tiny cage but Ace didn't see anything in it or any evidence that there had been.

"I forgot it again," Luffy said with a sigh and Fluffy put a large sad paw on his shoulder. "Protecting something is hard work. No wonder Ace is so mean."

"Oi," Ace said before he thought about it. But he was annoyed. He wasn't mean. Luffy blinked and looked up before breaking into a wide grin that lit up his whole face. Ace's own mouth twitched. He was doing that entirely too cute to stand thing again.

"Oh, Ace!" But then his face went stern. "Go away."

"Who the hell are you telling to go away, you little punk?" Ace snapped, grabbing Luffy's cheek and twisting it. " _ _Well?!"__

"Ahhh! Ow! Stop! I just meant for a little while, jerk!" Luffy snapped, trying to pull his cheek away but Ace wouldn't let him so it just stretched. Luffy huffed at him. "I'm not ready yet!" And his fingers twitched against the cage thing.

Had… Had Luffy been trying to learn to protect something?

"I'm going to get stronger, Ace," Luffy said, eyes dark with determination even as his cheek reddened. "So you don't have to worry when you go."

That little brat. Ace pulled back on his cheek and let it go so that is snapped hard enough to knock Luffy over. But instead of falling he just stumbled a little, not even flailing his arms for balance. He was growing up… Growing up and trying to better himself for Ace's sake. What the hell was Ace supposed to do with that surge of emotion?!

He grabbed Luffy around the neck with his arm and rested his chin on the brim of Luffy's hat, not wanting to crush the crown or knock it off his head. His nose was filling a little and his eyes stung and he adored this stupid kid with everything that he had even though he wasn't sure if he deserved it.

"Try harder, dumbass," he said finally, taking off Luffy's hat to drop the bag of clams on Luffy's head. "And eat those before they go bad." And then he let him go, though kind of missed the rubbery warmth already.

"Eh?" Luffy opened the bag. "Ohh! Cool! Thanks, Ace!" He looked up. "By the way, do you wanna come stay in the tree house? No wait!" Luffy said, before Ace could answer. "Don't come to the tree house, I'm training."

Just who did he think he was ordering around?

"I think I'm going to go the tree house," Ace said, hands in his pockets as he started to walk away.

"What? No!"

"If you don't like it. Come and stop me."

Otherwise he would. And be there every night and frustrate Luffy's every effort. Because eventually either Luffy would get used to it and Ace would get bored or he'd get stronger than it. It was training. And, for a little while at least, it was fun.

"Stop! Ace! Gum Gum no Bullet!" His fist shot out. Ace dodged it as easily as moving his head and grabbed the kid's wrist in passing. He would never-

"And __STAMP!"__

What?

Before he could turn two feet caught him in the small of the back with enough force to send him crashing face first into the ground, only barely managing to catch himself with his free hand.

"Shishishishi I got you!" Luffy said proudly, sitting on his back. "That was pretty good, huh?"

Ace spit out a leaf.

"Yeah," he said steadily. "Pretty good, Luff."

And then he tightened his grip on Luffy's wrist, wrapping the idiot's arm around his twice and turning to give him a calm look- though in his eyes he promised all the retribution that Luffy would suffer.

"You just forgot one thing."

"Stupid head," Luffy said, punching him in the nose.

It was a hard hit but Ace managed to keep his head from rocking back a single centimeter. Oh, he was going to get it good.

* * *

A little while later they were lying against Fluffy's side, getting rained on by what drizzle could make it through the trees. It was enough to hiss on the fire and irritated it, but not put it out. Ace was still smarting a bit but Luffy was a pile of bruises and could barely eat his clams. Still he had a lot fewer bruises than he usually did. Soon he'd be the one leaving all the bruises. And he hadn't used his pipe at all. Ace felt proud. He absently ruffled Luffy's hair as he felt the bear sigh in content underneath them.

"Did you hang out with Misty today?" Luffy asked.

"Missy and yeah. We saw a rock turtle. It was pretty cool."

"Aww I wanted to see one."

"It'll probably be back." Ace said, closing his eyes and wiping a trickle of blood or rain from his nose. "But we can't eat it." Since Missy liked it and all.

"Okay."

Silence. Rain pittered on the leaves. Luffy sucked out his clam. Despite the rain, or maybe because of it, Ace found himself drifting toward sleep again.

"Na, Ace…?"

"Mm."

"Are you gonna ask her to be your nakama?"

So much for sleep. But the answer to that was pretty obvious anyway. Ace yawned and tucked his hand behind his head.

"I don't think she wants to be a pirate, Lu."

"Oh." A pause. "Does that matter?"

"Of course it matters, stupid!" Ace said, bonking Luffy on the head. "Just what kind of nakama are __you__ planning to get with an attitude like that?"

"Any kind I want!" Luffy said. Ace opened his mouth, wanting to tell Luffy it didn't work that way. But then closed it again because weirdly, frighteningly, he could see it working that way. Of course whoever traveled with Luffy would have to be an idiot; but a crew of idiots with an idiot captain should make it all work out fine right?

"Sure, you do that," Ace said, giving his hair a little tweak.

Another bout of silence. The rain pattered. Luffy burped. Ace slid down a bit to get a softer patch of Fluffy's fur.

"Na, Ace…?

"Hm."

A pause and then: "She's going to miss you when you go."

He opened his eyes, looking at the underside of the leaves, flickering in faint firelight, and the drizzle coming down. Would she miss him? He wasn't sure. He didn't want to know really. Yes or no. Both answers were too hard to think about.

"I'm not gone yet, Luffy," he said. "So don't worry about it."

"Okay…"

Luffy rested against his side, arm flopping warm over his belly. He seemed to be falling asleep. Ace tweaked his ear.

"Na, Luffy…"

"Hum?"

"Where's your pipe?"

Luffy yawned and curled a little closer.

"Left it in the tree house."

"Yeah? Why?"

"Gonna get strong without it," Luffy mumbled and Ace smiled, closing his own eyes and stretching out his legs toward the fire.

Yeah… yeah he would…


	4. The Picnic & The Proposal

Ace waited outside of Red Reef, sitting on a low branch and watching the path ahead, trying not to be impatient. He was well out of sight of anyone in the village, though he could just see the cluster of houses through the gaps in the trees. He also couldn't see anyone coming and couldn't tell if she was on her way. It seemed she was late; that he had been sitting here for hours. But the sun hadn't even shifted that much; nor Luffy come to find him whining about the food.

She would show up, though. He was sure of it. She'd shown up the last time, hadn't she? And..she was his…well lady friend… as Makino had called it the other day. The word sounded strange and almost embarrassing in his head. She was a lady, he supposed, but he wasn't sure about friend. Or at least he didn't think friends… kissed like that… Did they?

He hadn't had the courage to ask Makino even though she'd looked at him pointedly and asked if he had any questions. He'd gone red just thinking about it. Especially since her eyes looked so soft and her mouth had parted in a smile that made him want to look away as his ears burned. She'd only laughed and told him to make sure to treat his lady friend right. Also, some money from Jiijii had come in; and if he wanted to buy something small for his lady friend, it might be really nice.

Ace dug in his pocket and pulled out the little hair barrette he'd gotten for her in Wind Mill. It was made of pink coral and shaped into three tiny flowers. He thought maybe it would remind her of the bay and seeing the turtle-or at least remind her of him. And maybe she'd be so thankful she'd kiss him again.

He grinned at the thought. He might even be able to get a second kiss if he gave her alligator eyes. Maybe a third.

Maybe they'd never make it to the picnic at all.

But Luffy would be mad if they forgot him, so maybe they'd just be late. He slipped the barrette into his pocket for safety, and tried to think about all the possibilities; but all too soon he was bored and staring toward Red Reef again. What was taking her so long? Maybe she had forgotten. He wanted to go in and check but those lizard assholes might be there and Ace would be too tempted to punch them.

Still as the time crawled by, the temptation grew. He thought first of sneaking into town and then marching in with his head held high and any bastards who objected could try their luck against him. Ace set his jaw and was about to slide off the branch and head toward the village; when there came a crashing through the undergrowthshe came coming toward him.

Ace grinned and sat back, nervously running a thumb over the barrette. She looked good today too. She was wearing a light green dress, thin, with straps instead of sleeves, that fluttered around her knees when she walked- and her steel toed boots which made his grin widene. He almost wished she had a hammer on her waist like that first night. Instead of a hammer, though, a basket hung from her arm and swung aggressively as she stomped toward him; her gray eyes narrowed at something ahead and her mouth set in a flat line. Something had pissed her off. But since it wasn't him, he found he liked the look on her.

Something like excitement knotted in his chest as she came closer. He waited for her to notice him. For her eyes to flash maybe once and then for her to break into a smile. To reach up to him with an elegant hand. He held his breath as she came by his tree-

And expelled it as she walked right by.

Anger flashed through him, hot and acidic and he leapt off the branch.

"Oi!" he snapped. She whipped around, eyes narrowed, looking ready to murder him with her basket. He locked his fists at his sides. Why was she mad at him? What the hell did he do? Her eyes widened and her lips worked, pressing against one another as if she was trying to smush her words between them.

Finally she marched toward him. He lifted his head. Waiting to… waiting to… waiting to something; but her cool hand wrapping around his arm startled him.

"There you are," she said, her voice flat and strained. "Take me the hell away from this place, _please._ "

"Huh?" The anger rested a confused knot in his gut. He was annoyed at being pulled off through the forest by her and kind of annoyed at her- but more irritated with whatever it was she was running from. Maybe-he narrowed his eyes.

"Was it those lizard jerks?"

Because if it was he was going to-

"Them and half the rest of the town," she said, taking a rasping breath. "Not on the same side of course. Everyones on me for their own reasons but mostly it has to do with them. Naturally."

"Uh…" It…seemed like something different all of a sudden. He knew what to do when one person was causing the harm or a bunch of people, too. But a village was something different altogether. You couldn't exactly punch everyone there. Besides which he didn't even know what she was talking about…and she was still talking too, gesturing wildly with her other hand; the basket swinging.

"Half of them think I should keep my head down and accept it and the other half think that it's my duty to" she threw back her head and said snootily: "Elevate the position of our village." A snort. "I'll elevate them off the ground is what I'll do."

Ace snorted a laugh as she drove her fist into the air in a wicked uppercut. He didn't expect to laugh as he was still a little angry, though mostly he was just confused; not sure what to feel. She cast him a glance, a smile tugging at her lips and the anger cooled a bit.

She turned to him and brushed a hand across his cheek and it cooled even further, tingles racing through his veins at the soft sensation.

"My wild Bjorn," she said softly, sweetly, and he tried to catch a glimpse of her tongue as it moved behind her teeth. "Too pure for this world."

"Pure?" What did she mean by that exactly? She smirked, giving him a look, eyes flecked with green from the trees overhead and he forgot how to breathe.

"Maybe not that pure," she murmured and pressed her lips against his, in something soft and sweet that made his toes curl in his shoes. She started to pull away, but he kissed her back, liking the little soft noise she made. Maybe they could forget the picnic and stay here? He would be hungry but he wouldn't mind.

Her hand drifted light against his shoulder and he was about to slip his arm around her waist when she pushed back, biting her bottom lip with white teeth. Ace grinned and moved in to catch her again but she put her fingers to his lips.

"No. No, listen you," she said. "We're going to have a picnic."

"Yeah?" he said, trying to capture one of those fingers between his teeth. She squeaked and backed up. He followed, giving her alligator eyes again, watching the flush darken her cheeks.

"Yes. A pic _nic._ " She squeaked again as he lunged for her, ducking behind a tree and peering at him around it, her cheek pressing against the bark. He was faintly jealous. "And we're going to eat food," she said.

"Okay." He rested his hands on either side of the tree, just under hers, sliding them down, preparing for the attack. "What are we going to have?" he said to distract her.

"Onigiri," she said, lifting her head, he lowered his, walking his fingers over the bark toward her hips.

"Uh huh…"

"Cake…"

"Sounds great."

Her lips parted. He leaned down, fingers digging into the bark, trying to catch a kiss but could only get a featherlight brush before she moved back. He brushed a finger over her hip and watched the little shiver go through her, making him grin.

"You keep those thoughts to yourself, dangerous boy," she said in a low voice that made him shiver, too. "Come on." She took his hand, her fingers wrapping light around his wrist again and pulling him around the tree. He followed, swallowing as her fingers slipped feather light over his wrist and palm until they were laced with his.

They walked for a bit in quiet, light and shadow slipping over her. He couldn't help but watch out of the corner of his eye. It was a cool quiet. A settling quiet. Like on rainy days sitting with Luffy in the tree house, just watching the rain fall on the leaves outside and drowsily daydreaming. Her hand felt real in his. Dry and calloused. He wondered what she'd say if he asked to see her build something or tangle those fingers through his hair.

Unable to ask, he watched her instead; the set of her shoulders, the soft angle of her chin, the curve of her ears, the almost blush deep red of her hair. Everything seemed magnified somehow. Important.

She glanced at him, angling her chin as if to get a better impression, then reached up with her other hand to push his face to the side.

"None of that, alligator eyes. I won't be eaten by you."

Ace blinked, flushed.

"I didn't have alligator eyes…"

"Oh yes you did. You were born with them I think. Dangerous things those." She stuck her tongue out at him cheerfully. "So I'm going to walk ahead. This way, isn't it?"

She slipped her hand from his and moved in front, walking backwards, holding the picnic basket behind her so it bumped against her legs each step. He shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to pick out her words, wondering what the hell she meant. It sounded like a bad thing but she was smiling at him. He scratched his cheek on his shoulder and turned his head to spit, wishing he could understand. Wishing she hadn't made that stupid crack about his eyes.

"I like that face even less," she said, turning to walk forward again. "You know, Bjorn, you have a nasty temper." Her voice was still casual, but it was true. Even if he hadn't done anything he almost felt like he wanted to. But that wasn't supposed to be how sunny days and picnics were supposed to work. Why did he have to care about such a stupid thing? It didn't even mean anything and yet…

She stopped on an incline and then pivoted to look at him down her nose, still holding the basket behind her.

"Are you mad about not getting what you want?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"No."

"Then what…?"

It felt like a test. He couldn't help but resent it a little. What did it matter why he was mad? But it mattered to her and Makino had told him it was important for him to listen and pay attention and try to understand just what his lady friend was asking of him.

Still he struggled with an answer and couldn't find one that didn't sound better then:

"My eyes are fine."

She laughed in a musical way and he liked it even as it stabbed right through him. He had to keep his eyes on the ground to keep from glaring at her.

"Of course they're fine. They're more than fine. That's why…"

He looked up at her, the annoyance fading a bit as he saw her standing dappled in light, a faint wind picking at the edges of her dress.

"That's why…?" he said. She pressed her lips together in a smile, half turned and looked at him under her lashes.

"Hmm, I wonder…" she said with the same smile. Like a mystery. She started to walk again and he followed, feeling unbalanced. Had he done something right? Had he done something wrong? Makino had told him to always let the girl take the lead but…

She stopped in place and he stopped too, watching her warily. She didn't seem tense at all. More as if she was waiting. Waiting for what though? He stopped too, uncertainly. Without looking back, she held out her hand. Ace hesitated, then moved forward and took it, lacing their fingers together like it had been before.

"Don't mind me," she said softly as they went on again, swinging their hands back and forth. "Seriously, Bjorn… you really shouldn't…." She sounded sad. Distant. "I'm not a great person…"

"Who cares?"

She laughed and turned to look up at him.

"Who cares?"

"Yeah…who cares? I like you." He took her other hand, too, squeezing it between his. It felt good like this. Like a fairytale. He felt light. Especially the way she was staring at him with wide eyes as if startled.

"Bjorn, I…" she murmured. But he didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to hear anything being addressed to that guy in such a soft tone. So he leaned down and kissed her gently. She froze, and then in the next second melted, wrapping her arms around his neck. He slipped his hands to the small of her back, feeling sunwarmed skin under the thin fabric of her dress. Cicadas buzzed on the trees and the wind rustled the leaves in a soft laugh, but otherwise here in the silence of the forest, there was only her.

"Oiiii!" Luffy's voice rose clear and distant. Ace opened his eyes in a glower.

That dumbass.

"Aren't we gonna eat?!" Luffy called and Ace turned his head to see his brother shadowed by some trees above the rockfall. The smell of roast boar drifted down and his stomach grumbled, though that made him even more annoyed somehow.

"Couldn't you have waited a second, stupid?!"

"I have been!"

She laughed and gently disentangled herself from him. He let her go, missing her warmth already.

"Okay, we're on our way," she said, taking his hand again and making him a little less inclined to dent Luffy's skull.

"Okay!" Luffy said with a wave and disappeared back into the clearing.

"Dumb, kid," Ace muttered.

"Hush. He's adorable." She kissed his cheek and then looked up as they came to the rock fall. The incline on either side of it was steep packed with dense underbrush. Missy tossed her hair out of her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

"Is there another way to get up?"

"We can go around," Ace said, looking away and scratching the side of his nose. "But that'll take about an hour."

"I suppose we'll just have to go straight up then," she said. Ace looked up at the trees.

"I can carry you."

"Oh…" she said. "Oh," she said again more flatly. He looked down at her, trying to keep his mouth a straight line. She deadpanned up at him and he bit his lower lip.

"You planned this didn't you?" she said, poking his chest. "This is why you told me to come this way the other day."

"It's a coincidence," he said, unable to keep the grin from his face.

"Liar!" She said, seeming to chew on her own smile as she flicked his chin. "Hmm well I won't be tricked that easily." She stepped back and held out her hand. "Give me your shirt!"

"Huh?" he blinked at her. What did she want that for.

"Your shirt, you cad," she said, her nose in the air. Why was she calling him a kind of fish. He took off his shirt and handed it to her. Though it was a hot day, the sudden absence of it made a light shiver break down his back.

She flicked out the shirt once and then tied it around her waist. Then she thrust the picnic basket at him.

"You hold this as punishment… and don't let a single sandwich fall." She wagged her finger in his face and yelped when he bit at it lightly, teeth clicking on empty air.

"You are terrible, Bjorn!" she said, but couldn't seem to help her smile either. Instead she turned and started up the slope. It was cute. He watched her for a bit, the blue shirt Makino had found for him looking good around her waist and hanging to the backs of her knees as she climbed on almost all fours, sweat peppering her shoulders. He liked the way the muscles on her arms and calves flexed as she moved-even though it seemed really hard for her for some reason.

She stopped before she'd even gotten a quarter of the way up, straightening and wiping sweat from her forehead; before looking around and then back at him.

"You climb, too, jerk!" she snapped, chucking a pebble at him. He laughed, dodging it easily and jogged up to where she was. She watched him, eyes widening as she straightened a little, wobbling uncertainly on a loose rock.

"How… How do you move so fast? Is there a path I don't know about?"

"A path?" he said, tilting his head. She narrowed her eyes at him. He shrugged, not knowing what she was even talking about.

"You walk up," she grumbled. "I'll follow."

"Okay…" he walked backwards to watch her progress, noticing with a slight frown that this dress wasn't as low cut as the tank top had been the other day. She looked up at him and her eyes flashed. Heat spread across his face and he only just ducked another rock zinging for him.

"Stop showing off!"

He laughed, though he wasn't sure why. She pouted at him, puffing air in her cheeks, face scarlet and the laugh died in his throat. It was cute. He shrugged, hands still in his pockets.

"Can't you do it?" he said, grinning.

"You bet I can!" she snapped and started climbing faster. Ace kept an easy pace ahead of her, trying to keep the grin from his face as she sweated. He was so focused he didn't even notice Luffy behind him until he said:

"Oh, food!"

"Don't even think about it," Ace said, moving the basket away.

"Aw come on! I'm hungry!" Luffy grumbled, reaching for it again. Ace moved it away again but he reached for it a third time, a fourth, getting faster each time. Ace backed up and his foot caught in an uneven gap, throwing off his timing enough so that Luffy touched the edge of the basket and nearly sent it all sprawling to the rocks.

"Cut it out, Luffy!" he snapped, grabbing his wrist before he could do a sixth attempt. "Just be patient will you?"

"Luffy, why don't you climb with me," she said, smiling. "That'll keep your mind off it."

"It will?" Luffy said. "What are we climbing?"

"This…" she said, gesturing to the rock fall. Ace raised an eyebrow. Was it really that diff-

Wait a second! Panic welled in his chest as he realized-

"How did you know his name?!" Ace said. But then he knew without her even saying and grabbed Luffy's collar. That idiot! "Luffy-! You!"

"Me? You said it first!" Luffy said with a scowl, grabbing onto his wrist.

"What?"

"You did," Missy said, shaking her head at him. "More than once. And just now actually."

Oh…

Oh had he?

"I didn't notice…"

"Dummy," Luffy said.

Ace kicked him down the hill, disappointed he'd only bounced off of three rocks on the way.

"Bjorn!" Missy said, sounding shocked. "I know that you don't get along but he's just a little…"

She trailed off, probably so she didn't have to shout over Luffy's determined yell as he roared up the hill past her toward the basket. Ace sighed, putting the basket on his head and avoiding Luffy's hands, bouncing up and down the rock fall to give him a work out and only occasionally kicking him downhill for fun while Missy still struggled to climb it.

After a while he realized she wasn't climbing at all and just staring at him with wide eyes. He blinked at her, giving Luffy a solid kick down bouncing him off five rocks this time and glancing him off a tree.

"What… what is with you!" she said, pointing at him. "I'm making all this effort to climb and you two make it seem like nothing!" She flicked her bangs from her face with a toss of her head and put her hands on her hips, her eyes flashing. "Tell me the truth! Are you mountain demons or something?"

"We're pirates!" Luffy said, popping up near Ace's elbow and driving a fist right into his gut. Sparks flashed in front of Ace's eyes and he wheezed as the air burst out of him, nearly bending double. He could hear his heart roaring in his ears. Luffy grinned and reached for the basket.

That- dirty- little-

" _Luffy-_ " he snarled, vengeance swirling through him in a volcanic rush. Luffy's fingers twitched.

"You really should be nicer to him," Missy said, turning to look at where Luffy lay at the bottom of the rock fall, lumps steaming on his head.

"He can handle it," Ace said, shaking out his hand. Even though Luffy was rubber that kind of hurt. Maybe he'd hit too hard. Missy shook her head, and let out a puff of air.

"I'm beginning to think you really are bandits after all," she said. Then smirked. "But I suppose a little rough housing to be expected from a bear puncher and his little brother right?" She winked and he grinned, not sure what to think of it but she was cute so who cared?

"Ahh, so hungry," Luffy moaned. He was starting to climb the rocks behind her, bruised and scraped up from his journeys down. Ace felt a twinge of guilt for it. Missy watched him, too, a faint smile on her face. She then glanced at Ace and gestured for him to come down. He did. She reached into the picnic basket and pulled out a wrapped sandwich.

"Here, Luffy," she said, her smile brightening. "For your patience."

"Eh? Ah thanks!" He took it, and ripped the paper off, cramming the whole sandwich into his mouth. Bits of egg and mayonnaise stuck to the side of his face.

"Do you like it? My little sister made it."

"Shishishi it's delicious!"

She smiled at Luffy's big stupid grin that lit up his whole face despite that there was still egg sticking to it. Idiot.

"Oi," Ace said, ruffling his sunwarmed hair. "Why don't you go check on the boar?"

"Yosh!" Luffy said and went bounding back up the rock fall.

"He has so much energy," Missy said with a sigh. Then she puffed up her cheeks and pressed a finger against one of them, looking up at Ace with a small pout on her lips. "Carry me?"

Ace grinned.

"Don't you dare be smug," she said as he went down and knelt, offering his back. "I can do it. I just don't want to be hot and sweaty when I get up there."

"You're already sweaty," he said as her hands ran over his shoulders. She scowled and tiny stars flashed in his eyes as she conked him on the back of the head with the heel of her hand.

"Rude," she said. "A true gentleman is not supposed to notice."

Oh was that right? Makino had never said anything about that but then Makino never sweat either. She just misted lightly, she'd always said.

"Sorry," he murmured.

"And so you better be." Her arms linked around his neck and he held the handle of the picnic basket between his teeth as he reached back for her legs.

And then she was pressed up against him, chest to back. He felt like he could feel her skin under the thin cloth of her dress and her legs fit firmly into his palms, the smooth bends like silk under his fingertips. And… just between his shoulders…

"Soft…" He yelped as the picnic basket fell, though still crouching it didn't have far to fall and didn't bust open on the rocks, spreading its contents like guts as he feared. He flushed and caught it between his teeth once more, only to nearly lose it again as she laughed in his ear.

"You really are too pure, aren't you?" she murmured, and he felt a warm gust go down his neck and the soft brush of her nose. A chill went through him despite the heat of the day and the handle splintered a little between his teeth.

"Up and at 'em," she said, twitching her legs against his sides. He blew a nervous breath through his nose and stood, making his way up the rocks. It was as wonderful as it was dangerous and he tried to focus on the stones ahead so he wouldn't trip or think to much about what was pressing against him. Wouldn't he like to turn around and press the other way, her legs coming around him and…

He closed his eyes and forged ahead, focusing on his breathing, the feel of each rock under his foot. He could get through this. He could get _through_ this. The cicada buzzed. She breathed softly and he felt every push of her lungs.

"You actually cooked a half a boar?" she said astonished. Ace cracked open one eye to find he was near the top of the rock fall, sweat dripping off his face. The boar was still on the spit. Or its hind end was. The rest of it was bones badly hidden in a bush.

"Haha yeah!" Luffy said, glancing to the side and sweat gliding over his face as he waved his hand back and forth. "Half a boar. Something must have eaten the other half."

"That something was you!" Ace snapped. Then cursed as the basket dropped, catching it on his foot. He cursed and hopped the rest of the way, making her squeak softly like a tiny cat and jamming his heart in his throat. How could girls make those noises? Makino never made those noises!

"You can put me down now," she said, sounding faintly nervous. Ace did, setting the basket down as well and shooting Luffy a look that promised he'd be tied to the spit next if he tried to come at it. Luffy stared at with sucked in lips as if he was tempted in spite of himself.

"Well! That was an adventure," she said, taking off Ace's shirt from around her waist. Ace started to reach for it but she slid it on instead, popping the collar at the neck. The sleeves fell halfway down her forearms and the shirt itself to mid-thigh. Ahh…

Ahh…

It was cute.

Too cute.

He felt a little like combusting and instead just rubbed the back of his neck and tried to think of other things. Spiders. Toe jam. Dadan in the mornings.

"You boys better eat all my food, too," Missy said, pulling a soft blue blanket from the basket and unfurling it. For a moment she was caught in his mind, an image of the swirling shirt and skirt and floating blanket, a glint of sweat caught in a shaft of sunlight. He wanted to touch it. To see what it tasted like.

"We will!" Luffy said, breaking the moment and picking up the basket.

"Ah!" Ace reached for it but Luffy carried it to the blanket and handed it to her, grinning like he wasn't an even bigger food thief than Ace was. Ace grumbled to himself and went to the boar. It was well cooked. Luffy'd even banked the fire at the right time so it wouldn't be scorched. He ripped off two legs before Luffy could get his rubbery hands on one and took a big satisfied bite out of one as he offered the other to Missy.

"Here."

She looked up at him wide eyed from where she was setting out plates and weird little cups. Grease dripped from the meat, sliding over his knuckles and Luffy's eyes glazed a little. She leaned back, looking from it to him as if trying to see if he was joking or not. Finally she raised her hands.

"Um… no thanks…"

"Huh…? Why not?"

"Oh! I know!" Luffy said. He grabbed a cloth napkin and wrapped it around the foot- Oh right! That must be the polite thing to do. He moved the boar away from Luffy's bear trap teeth which clicked shut on air and held the leg out to her again, properly napkined.

"I'm fine, really. I'm not fond of wild boar," she said. "Let Lu have it if he wants it… but I'll be sad if my little sister's talents go to waste."

He nodded. He wasn't happy about it but if that's what she wanted. He took the napkin off the boar and stuffed the leg into Luffy's mouth as he went for it, chomping on his own leg as he gagged a bit and flailed and tried to get it out. By the time he sat on the blanket the leg came out with a wet pop and Luffy snapped:

"A- You jerk!"

Ace ignored him and took another bite of his boar leg dabbing his hand with the napkin. After the plates were more sandwiches, cut to look like triangles. Some vegetables. Some fruit. A small plate of onigiri. And…

Woah…

"That looks almost as good as Makino's cake!" Luffy said, leaning over. It looked better than Makino's cake! It was white with strawberries resting on little pillows of frosting all around.

"Makino? Another bandit?" Missy said with a smile as she pulled out a thermos finally, filling the cups with green tea.

"Nuh uh. She runs the bar," Luffy said. Missy shook her head.

"Bandits, barmaids and boars. What roughnecks you two are." But she was smiling so Ace guessed that was a good thing?

"As for our spread…" Missy said, gesturing with an elegant hand almost like a lady at a merchant stall. "We have egg salad sandwiches. Cucumber. Roast beef."

"Beef!" Luffy said reaching for it and Ace caught his hand without thinking.

"And for those with more refined tastes, aka me, liverwurst."

"Why would you wanna have the worst liver?" Luffy said, wrinkling his nose.

"It's a metaphor, stupid," Ace said, hooking an arm around Luffy's shoulders absently. He knew that much! Though what it was a metaphor of, he didn't know.

"It just means it's a kind of sausage," she said. Then settled back, her legs tucked under her and her hands on her lap. "Now when you two are done eating like savages of the wild from whence you came; we can begin." And she sipped tea delicately, her little finger stuck out.

"What's a whence?"

"It means from where… remember?" Ace said, proud of remembering that.

"Oh right!"

Missy smiled at him over her cup and he grinned, wiggling his toes in his shoes and wishing he was sitting just a bit closer. Maybe later when all the little fussy stuff was out of the way.

But now that he thought of fussy stuff…

"Hey, Lu, we have to be polite," Ace said, sucking the meat off the bone and cracking it between his teeth to get at the marrow.

"Huh really? Is this a polite picnic?"

"Most definitely," Missy said with a wink.

"Yosh!" Luffy sat cross-legged, hands on his legs and bowed his head.

"Thank you for the food, you bastard."

"Don't call her that!" Ace snapped, popping Luffy on the head.

"Sorry," Luffy said, clutching the knot which had grown there.

"I have been called worse," Missy said, flicking her bangs from her eyes. "But you get points for trying. Have a beef sandwich." He sucked down the boar leg almost faster than Ace could blink and snatched the sandwich from the plate where it was gone in an instant.

"Aahh so good!" Luffy said.

"Remind me never to hand feed you," Missy said with a faint laugh.

Ace wouldn't mind being hand fed! He ate a little slower, trying to show her how good he was with his teeth, but as Luffy kept snatching more sandwiches he realized he'd have to act quick. He shoved the rest of his boar into Luffy's mouth and reached for a sandwich. Then remembered and delicately patted his fingertips on the napkin. Luffy waved at him and pointed to his own mouth. Ace stared, then remembered and patted around his mouth. Missy blinked, then burst out laughing.

"I feel like I'm in the middle of a comedy play! Is there a secret audience somewhere?" she shielded her eyes with her hand and looked around. Ace grinned around his sandwich, not sure what was funny but glad she was happy.

He continued to eat as polite as he could. Hoping she'd notice. And even tried to stick his pinky out but almost dropped his cup. She was looking at Luffy shoving three onigiri and a tangerine in his mouth and didn't notice though so Ace was glad for that. Still being polite was hungry work and his stomach growled for the boar that was slowly cooling on the spit.

"Did you make all this yourself?" Luffy asked, grabbing the last onigiri from the plate and popping it into his mouth. Missy sighed, head dropping.

"No. Unfortunately cooking is not in my wheelhouse unless someone is dead or trying to be. But." She winked. "My second oldest little sister made most of it, so if you like it, you can thank her." She puffed her cheeks out. "The brat made the cake."

"It looks like a good cake," Luffy said.

"It is…" Missy took the covering off and cut the cake with a shining knife. He enjoyed watching the press of her finger against the black hilt of the knife as it slid through the frosting. He swallowed his tea and wished he had some water instead.

"But she's only making it for practice for the festival." Missy put a slice on the plate and held it out to Luffy. "You know my second oldest little sister is looking to go with someone… and oh, she's about your age. Ten, right?"

"Fourteen," Luffy said, licking the frosting off the cake with a broad sweep of his tongue before shoving the whole thing in his mouth. Ace blinked.

"i thought you were thirteen, Lu."

"Yeah but I had a birthday! Remember? Jii-chan came to visit."

"Oh..." Ace felt like icy bony fingers had run up his spine. "Yeah..."

"You cannot be fourteen," Missy said, pointing the knife at him and switching it back and forth. "You look ten. He has to be ten. Isn't he, Bjorn?"

"Nah he was soft when he was ten," Ace said, stealing a strawberry. "Show her, Luffy."

"Yosh." Luffy stopped licking the plate and flexed his arms. Muscles came up under the rubbery skin. Ace was proud of him for putting so much on. He'd trained really hard for it.

"I can't believe this…" Missy blew her hair out of her eyes. "Demons and wild men." She shook her head.

"And pirates," Luffy said, snagging another piece of cake and plopping back content. There was a small crunch and Luffy's eyes widened. Then he sighed and dug in his back pocket, pulling out his little broken cage.

"Aw man. I forgot I had it back there." He puffed out air. "Protecting things is hard!"

Ace was frankly surprised he'd protected it this long. But it didn't look in great shape as it was. Most of the little sticks were broken and even the glue that had been stuck here and there at odd places didn't seem as if it'd hold together much longer.

"What is that?" Missy asked.

"I'm trying to learn how to protect stuff," Luffy said, setting the cake to the side as he took the cage apart carefully. "So I made this. But I keep breaking it."

"Mm, well sticks aren't very durable you know." She cut another piece of cake in a perfect wedge and handed it to Ace, along with a tiny fork. Ah… okay a fork was what he was supposed to use. He gingerly picked it up, holding it between three fingers. She smiled and then turned her attention back to Luffy.

"If you really want to protect something it has to mean something doesn't it?" She leaned forward on her legs and regarded Luffy with a smile. "Something that's not so easily forgotten…"

Oh…right… He knew that but he'd gotten so used to looking after Luffy that he'd forgotten. He wondered how she knew that. What she protected. Who she protected. What was more important to her than anything?

"I dunno what that is…" Luffy leaned back on his hands and looked up. "A-" he bit his lips. Puffed out his cheeks. "He's pretty strong already! I don't think there's anything I can do to help him out.

"Help who out?" Ace speared a strawberry then frowned as it flopped off the fork and onto his lap. How could anyone eat with this thing?

"You, dummy," Luffy said nudging him with his foot.

"I don't need your help, dummy" Ace said, nudging him back. And then he knew. "Anyway, you've got something of your own to protect." He picked up Luffy's hat and squished it on his head. "Worry about getting stronger first so _you_ can keep it safe and you safe."

"But what about nakama?" Luffy looked up at him, pulling on the edge of his hat, a smudge of frosting on his nose. "I'm going to have to look after them!"

"Worry about them when you have them." Ace tweaked his nose, swiping the frosting off with a finger and then rubbing it clean on a napkin.

"Well you know," said Missy brightly and Ace blinked at her. "There's more to just protecting someone physically. All the great heroes have protected their loved ones hearts as well."

"You know about heroes?" Luffy said, clenching his hands into fists as excitement flashed in his eyes.

"Of course!" she said and Ace couldn't help but be a little excited, too, but he kept himself from leaning forward with the same look.

"Like Pandaman?!" Luffy said. Everyone knew about Pandaman! Whose heart could he have protected? Ace had never heard that story before.

"Pa- no. Well yes I have heard a little, but I'm talking about the legend of the white lady."

"Oh," Luffy said, puffing out air and Ace deflated a little too. That sounded kind of boring. Probably about dresses and princesses and stuff. He inched the cake a little over the edge of the plate with the fork and bit off the end. That counted right?

"It's a good story!" she said hotly, her own eyes flashing. "And you're going to listen to it because my sisters worked for this picnic and it's their favorite legend. Besides which if you don't-" and here she flipped her hair and gave Ace an enticing glare. "I won't invite you to the mid-summer festival."

"Mm, okay," Luffy said, lying on his stomach with his chin in his arms. "But don't make it boring. Oh!" he raised his head. "Put a pirate in it!"

"Honestly…" Missy shook her head. "But fine, yes, I will talk about the pirates it if that will please you." She glanced at Ace just as he was sliding the rest of his cake into his mouth. "Any request from you?"

There wasn't time to chew and he didn't want to swallow and choke on it so he just shook his head, hoping his cheeks weren't bulging as much as he felt they were.

"That's what I thought!" Missy straightened, tucking her legs under her and clapped her palms against her legs twice: "Gather round! Gather round! Come hear the magical tale of the White Lady-" she drew her hand across her face, trailing her fingers over her eyes. "And the Bandits."

"Shishishi it's like a puppet show!" Luffy said, resting his chin on his fists and lazily kicking his feet in the air. Ace swallowed his cake then flopped on his side to watch her, resting his head on his fist and trying to perfect the tiny fork technique on the strawberries hidden in the frosting layers of the cake.

"Are you really fourteen?" Missy muttered, side-eyeing Luffy and Ace snickered, nearly choking on the strawberry. Luffy just grinned and punched the air.

"Tell it! Tell it!"

Missy coughed in her fist and straightened again.

"This is a tale which is found all over the East Blue in many variations. But! It's said the original tale came from our very own island."

"Ooohhhh," Luffy said, already seeming enchanted. Ace shook his head. Lu was way too easily entertained.

"A long long time ago, in the time of the missing King, there lived in a certain city on this island two women. They were known as the White Lady and the Red Lady. Now the White Lady was everything you would think she should be. Pure and wholesome, conscientious and kind…." Missy folded her hands under her chin and looked upwards. "And by all accounts a hell of a looker." She winked at Ace and he grinned.

"They say she was so good no one could ever find fault with her," Missy continued.

"She sounds boring," Luffy said, picking his nose and Ace agreed but didn't say anything because maybe Missy liked her.

"Maybe, but she was very kind to the Red Lady, who was only her half sister, and yet she would not let anyone say such a thing in her presence. Half or whole didn't mean anything to her."

Well, boring or not, he kind of liked her.

"Unfortunately." Missy dipped her voice. "The Red Lady was not so kind. Nor so pure or wholesome. She was selfish and wicked and looked like the hind end of a dog." Missy scrunched her face up. "Though they were close as children, she soon became jealous of her sister's charm and class and good looks and, knowing she'd never be able to compete, and so her impote- er- useless anger grew, making her even uglier as her half sister grew fair..."

"If she was that worried, why didn't she just get stronger?" Luffy said.

"You can't get stronger with that sort of thing, Lu," Ace said. The sweetness of the cake was starting to curdle in his mouth a little so he rolled over onto his back, hands behind his head as he tried to tongue it away from his teeth. The grass prickled against one of his shoulderblades and he stared up at the blue sky through the trees and couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic toward the Red Lady. She couldn't help what she looked like and he could understand being selfish and wicked too. He wondered if anger really did make someone uglier. He wanted to ask but at the same time felt a little stupid in bringing it up. Maybe because he didn't want her to say yes.

"Exactly. There was nothing she could do. Or rather nothing she'd like to do. If she just was humble before her sister and perhaps accepted her own place then she may have found peace…"

"She should be a pirate!"

"No. Now stop it with the pirates already," Missy said. "I'll get to them, be patient." She puffed out a breath of air and resumed her posture. "What the Red Lady really wanted she could never acquire so she sat and she stewed." Missy crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air. She looked pretty like that and Ace traced the line of her jaw down to her neck with his eyes.

"Anyway, it came to pass that when these women grew up, the King had been missing for many years and so there was talk of replacing him…. At least temporarily. The White Lady was a natural candidate- choice," she said as Luffy opened his mouth. He shut it again. "But the Red Lady was so overcome with fury and worry about being passed over that she devised a way to get rid of her half-sister for good."

"Didn't Whiter notice she was mad about it? I always notice when A-ahh this is really stupid … when Dumb-butt is mad."

"Who are you calling Dumb-butt?" Ace said, but was too lazy to move at the moment and exact his revenge.

"They weren't as close as you and Dumb-butt," Missy said amused, but she was smiling at him and Ace forgave her.

"Mm, well I don't think she's that nice if she doesn't notice her sister…" Luffy said, resting his chin on his arms and Ace forgave him too. Stupid Luffy and his stupid…Luffyness….

"Well let's just say that the Red Lady was very good at hiding her real thoughts," Missy said. "But she had to be careful because if anyone knew she had a part in it, she could be executed… so she called in …" She glanced at Ace and smiled with her eyes. "A big handsome strapping young hunter and bear puncher to do her dirty deeds…"

Ace stared at her. Bear puncher? Did she mean him? Is that why she named him that? Or was he in this story now? His gut tightened and he swallowed, staring at the sky through the trees again. It was just a story after all.

"I've told her you were taking her to see a white deer," said Missy in a scratchy voice. "Go with her into the forest and when you're sure you're alone, cut out her heart from her chest. Weeheeheeheehee."

 _Don't do it,_ Ace thought, almost not wanting to hear the rest of it. Why was he cutting out the heart of some White Lady? Maybe it wasn't him at all but what if it was? Was Missy really that mad that he'd gotten angry earlier? Or maybe she thought he was dangerous somehow. He rested his hands on his stomach and tried to pretend he didn't care.

"So the hunter did as he was bid- but even as he took her into the forest, the White Lady was so good and kind and pure that the hunter fell in love with her instantly and could not do the foul deed."

Ace gagged, even though he was relieved, and she threw a napkin at him.

"He wanted to return the White Lady to her home, but he could not for the Red Lady had his mother in her clutches and should he fail ckkkkkt." Missy drew her thumb across her throat and her head lolled. Ace winced a little but Luffy looked on fascinated, chewing on a bone.

"He should go send her flying," Luffy said.

"Well if he did that, his mother would definitely die," Missy said. "Now the White Lady wanted to go home more than anything. But she understood the hunter's plight, so she agreed to stay with his bandit friends until she could be snuck back into the city or his mother could be snuck out. Meanwhile the hunter killed a deer and took its heart for the Red Lady who was satisfied. But just in case his mother would continue to be the her prisoner for seven years."

She paused to take a sip of tea. Then shooed flies away from the cake and began to pack it up. Ace sat up and helped her the best he couldn't trying not to notice too much how their hands brushed warmly or their eyes met. In the stillness the story sank in and he wondered about the White Lady with the bandits and what the Red Lady would do if she ever found out. He wondered if the mother was frightened and alone and missing her son. But he tried not to think about that too much either.

Luffy cracked the bone between his teeth. Something scuffled in the undergrowth. In the distance a bird called and further away another answered.

Now that everything was packed up, Ace drew his knees to his chest and rested his arms on them, watching her, waiting for the rest of the story. Luffy did, too, nose flaring as Missy resumed the story teller pose.

"Unfortunately for the hunter, his woes were not over. The Red Lady used him for many cruel things- but mostly assassination." Missy pulled back the sleeve of Ace's shirt and raised a hand which clutched the knife she'd used to cut the cake with, still slicked with frosting. "Men, women, even whole families who opposed her were put to the knife. Shhk shhk!" She stabbed the knife downward and Ace's stomach soured. The poor guy…

Missy lifted the knife, hand shaking, brows drawing together as if in some great pain, then she let out a breath and her hand steadied. She cleaned the knife with a napkin so the blade shone in the light. She put the knife in the basket and pulled out a cloth napkin, folding it in her lap.

"But it wasn't completely awful, for whenever he could he went to visit his friends and the White Lady at their house on the mountainside. And by and by she got to know this hunter, trapped in in the Red Lady's web." Missy looked up at him, catching his eyes, her own reflecting green of the trees. "He was a good man," she said in a lighter voice. A smile quirked her lips. "Despite his wild man ways, she could see his gentleness. Despite his temper, she could see his lo-his heart." She cleared her throat and looked away, a blush darkening his cheeks. But when she looked back at him, she was smirking again.

"Despite his innocence around her, she could see his alligator eyes."

He grinned and laughed a little, ducking his head.

"Eh? Was he an alligator?" Luffy asked.

"No. It just means he had a hungry look," Missy said without skipping a beat. Luffy nodded satisfied and chewed on the bone more with the back of his teeth, looking like a hungry dog.

"And, most importantly, despite his upbringing…." She held up her hands, pressed together, the napkin between them. "She could see his potential…" she opened her hands and a napkin flower bloomed. A chill went through him as his eyes widened. Woah. When had she-?

"Ooh!" Luffy said, sitting up. "That's so cool! Can I see?"

"Of course, but be careful."

Luffy spat out the bone and held up his hands. Missy gently placed the napkin flower in them and he stared at it. Ace craned his head to look, too, wondering how the hell she'd done that. Was it some kind of magic trick?

"By and by," Missy said, settling back. "She began to care for him accidentally. Dangerously. He was like no one she'd ever met." She met Ace's eyes again and smiled, or seemed to, it felt like a smile with the corners of her lips and the flick of her eyes.

"But he was still trapped and she could not free him. Moreover, the Red Lady had grown in such power that she was next in line to be Queen despite everything she was and that had happened to her. But if she were Queen, the hunter would always be beholden to her." Missy held out her hands, palms up and apart and shook her head slowly.

"The White Lady had not the strength to save him. Nor could their bandit friends. So she and the bandits decided the only course of action was to set out on an adventure…" She let the word linger in the air. Ace leaned forward and Luffy grinned, his eyes shining, fingers twitching against the flower petals.

"And find the missing king," Missy continued. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes and peered around again. "It was said that the King had been taken somewhere far over the sea, to the most dangerous waters that ever existed."

"That's so coool," Luffy said, a shiver going from his legs to his hair. "They went after him right? They went to find him, right? And did lots of cool stuff."

"Mmhm. Although first they had to get off the island-and to do that they'd have to get past the Master of these waters. Three times they tried to get off the island and three times they were driven back by that beast. But finally the White Lady had an idea… she went to the prow of the ship and began to sing…"

"Sing?" Luffy blinked. "What's a song gonna do?"

"Well this was an amazing song," Missy said. "The most beautiful and sweet and sad you'd ever heard. She put all of herself into that song. All of her love and sorrow for the hunter's situation. And by and by the Master began to fall asleep and soon he was out completely, snoozing on top of the water with a single tear shining on his terrible face. And so, quietly and quickly, the White Lady and the bandits snuck past him."

Lame, Ace thought but didn't say. Luffy set the flower carefully on his lap, then folded his arms, frowning hard.

"Mmm okay! But she better not be able to sing her way out of all of it!"

"If only she could. But not three days into the journey, they encountered a pirate ship… The Scurvey Dog Pirates they were called, lead by the cruelest most callous woman on the sea. The fight was a long and hard one but the bandits would not let the White Lady dirty her hands. One was lost to the foamy waves." Missy put a hand over her heart.

"Another to a dagger to the back. But in the end, they won, and in the captain's chest, they found a piece of the map which would lead to the darkest part of the ocean where the missing King was said to be. But to get the other pieces they would have to fight the five most dangerous pirates on the sea- including the worst one of all.." She lowered her head in a grin, crooking her fingers

Luffy leaned forward. Ace leaned forward. The forest seemed to hold its breath.

But then she relaxed and shrugged lightly.

"Well to hear the rest you'll have to come to the festival."

"What?" Ace said at the same time as Luffy.

"Boo that sucks! I wanna know!" Luffy said, and Ace did too! It was too great of a story to be left hanging like that.

"You will know if you come," she said, shooing Ace from the blanket with a flip of her hands and folding it up. "And if you spend some time with my little sister-then I may even let you help out with the puppet show I'm presenting."

"Really?" Luffy got to his feet. "Can I be one of the puppets?!"

"Mm, we'll see." Missy tucked the blanket into the basket, then ruffled Luffy's hair in a familiarity that made Ace feel strange. Kind of good, kind of bad, a weird little wiggle. "For now though I have to head back, forgive me for not telling you the rest of it?"

"Yeah, okay," Luffy said with a huff. "But you better tell me the rest at the festival."

"I promise," she said, putting a hand over her heart and bowing. "For now though, I'm going to steal your brother to escort me home." She handed Ace the basket and he put it absently on his head, startling a little as she reached for his hand as if to take it but relaxed when she slipped it around his arm. "I hope we'll see each other again soon."

"Me too!" Luffy said. Then turned back to look at the boar. "I guess I better finish this up."

Noo, Ace wanted to say. He was still hungry and that was so much meat he hadn't eaten. But Missy was warm against him and tugging at him to move and so he moved, reluctantly, trying to pretend he didn't care. He started to go toward the rocks but she tugged at him and said:

"Let's go the other way… The longer way…" She looked up at him. "I want to talk to you."

"About what?" he said, feeling a little unsettled. She cocked her head to the side and then smiled. "You'll see." 

* * *

Even though she'd said she wanted to tell him something, they were close to Red Reef and she still hadn't said much of anything. Still it was nice to be walking hand in hand with her again under the shadows of the trees. As they walked, the story kept rolling around in his mind. He wondered what would happen. How a lady and a bunch of bandits could survive in the sea. How many more would die… Would the lady be able to keep singing after that? Would they be able to find the king?

He wondered about the hunter guy, too. Was he worried about the Lady? Did he feel ashamed he hadn't gone with her? Or that he'd gotten her in the situation to begin with? Had she even told him what she intended to do? Or did he come back to the house only to see it empty and dust covered with maybe only a note.

He wondered if he asked her she would tell him. He opened his mouth to do so but then closed it again. She seemed distant, too. As if wrapped up in her own thoughts. She'd let go of his arm a little while ago and was peeling bark from a little twig with her short fingernails, but her eyes were ahead. They'd veered a little, he realized. They were heading parallel to Red Reef, heading up a little nudge of hill. He could see the blue sky and blue water through the gaps in the trees. But she seemed to know where they were going so he didn't say anything.

It wasn't too much longer before they were there near the edge of the trees and he held some branches aside so she could slip past. She did with a smile and went to stand near the edge of the narrow cliff. They were near that secret bay, small and nearly hidden off to the left. Otherwise the sea filled his vision, wide and mysterious, capped with white from a soft wind. In the distance he could see the shadowed smudge of another island.

"Hmm, beautiful," she said, hugging herself. The wind lifted her hair and skirt and the blue shirt and he watched the movement of it, fascinated, mesmerized almost. He watched her face, the shine of her eyes. He wanted to touch the soft dusky curve of her jaw with a fingertip- but that felt weird so he put his hands in his pockets instead, jolting a little in surprise as he felt the barrette. He'd forgotten about that. It felt weird to give it to her right now, though. Like it would be bigger than he intended. Like it would mean more. Though that seemed weird in his own head. What was he afraid of?

"Bjorn…" she said, keeping her gaze over the sea. When she finally did look at him her eyes were stormy. "What do you want to do when you go to sea? Honestly now."

"Be a pirate," he said, because she'd said she'd wanted to know and unwilling to lie about it. As soon as he said it he wondered if he'd just should have found a way to brush it off because she screwed up her mouth at him and said:

"Honestly, I said."

"It is honest." He looked out over the water. "Pirates are the freest on the seas and-"

"Please," She shook her head. "You're what, sixteen? Seventeen? A dream like that is fine for a kid like Luffy but be sensible. You can't tell me that you seriously, _seriously_ , are going to go out there and be a pirate."

"Yeah." He met her eyes. "I really am." A knot formed in his stomach as her eyes narrowed. Would she hate him after this? Would she want nothing to do with him? The thought pissed him off a little and scared him a little but he couldn't say why.

"Bjorn… come on. Pirates are awful people. Are you really telling me you want to rob people and cause murder and mayhem? That's what it'll be like even if you are just there for freedom." She wiggled her fingers like bunny ears and he didn't get it. Before he could answer she tched and said:

"What would your mother think?"

It hit him like a fist to the gut. He opened his mouth. Closed it again. What would she think? About anything? He couldn't even get a sense of her. Not even a vague outline of who she might be. When he was little, he remembered, he'd tried to imagine her but then had stopped for some reason. Why was that?

"Listen," Missy said, distracting him. "I get it, I do. Freedom is a heady thought. And not everyone has it in them to be a Marine or want to start on the bottom rung of a shrimp boat." She took his shirt from her shoulders and flapped it like she was doing laundry before holding it out to him.

"Here," she said. He took it and as he slid it on. It smelled like her and he felt a little dizzy suddenly being surrounded by it. There was something sweet and something musky and he stopped himself from burying his nose in the collar only because he was sure it would look weird.

"I want to get off of this island, too," she continued, reaching up to adjust his collar, making him want to lean down, but she backed up before he could as if sensing it. "I've been saving up for a while now and soon I'm going to have enough to leave. You're looking at the next Merchant-Adventurer Extraodinarie!" She made a gesture as if flicking back an invisible hat.

"Sounds cool," Ace said with a grin, liking her ambition even if he didn't get it. "What will you do?"

"Commit to being a wild Entrepreneur of course! Where there are goods and services wanted, I'll be there!" She tossed her hair and put her hands on her hips. "I'll leave no ware undelivered! No opportunity unexplored! No need unmet. And if you were a pirate, Mister Bjorn…" She tilted her head up and narrowed her eyes at him. "Well I'd only have one thing to say to you."

"What's that?"

He expected her to say something cool or badass. Instead she made a finger gun and pressed it to the center of his chest.

"Bang," she said.

Ace stared at her bemused. What was he even supposed to say to that? He kind of liked the idea that she was hardcore enough to shoot him. At the same time it annoyed him a little. Was it just because he was a pirate? Even if he hadn't done anything to her?

"Maybe we can be allies," he said with a shrug. She gave him an odd look and then sighed, resting a hand against the center of his chest that made him a lot more uncomfortable than the gun. Her palm was warm, hot even, sitting against his skin like a brand and he clenched his hands in his pockets to prevent…prevent something. He swallowed and shivered as she moved her hand down, fingers blazing fire in their wake.

"That's not the point. Look, what I'm saying is this…" She stepped back and dropped her hand. He felt relieved and cold at the same time. He wanted to take her hand and kiss her palm. Maybe up her arm to the hollow of it and see what she did.

And then blinked, taken aback as she held up her hand to him, fingers lightly curled, as if asking him to take it.

"Be in my crew," she said.

"What?"

Was she Luffy?

How could she- Ace stared at her. At her hand. Why would she want- She didn't even know who he was. What his real name was. But she wanted him to come with her?

"I'm serious," she said. "It won't be this year, maybe the next one. By winter anyway. I'd pay you, of course and it's freer than being a pirate. More adventure, less being chased by Marines." She winked at him.

"Why me?" She had sisters didn't she? What about other friends in town? She wasn't mad at all of them, was she? Was it because she saw something in him? Something that was more than just-

"Well I can aim a pistol alright but I'd have a lot harder a time punching a sea bear," she said amused.

Oh… So just muscle. Ace tried not to be too disappointed about it. It wasn't as if he'd actually consider it anyway. Even if he liked her a bit…

"Think about it," she said, lowering her hand and then folding them both behind her. "It'll be fun and you'll be able to make something of yourself. Something good instead of just getting a bounty on your head."

She stuck her tongue out at him. He wondered what she would think of him if he said he wanted that. To show the world and everyone in it just how strong he was. To prove… prove something. Prove everything. Show up that asshole. Be what he wanted to be.

Except…there was something about what she said, too. Just a small thought but something traitorous that burrowed in his gut. That kind of life- was it even possible for someone like him? Could he just be Bjorn forever? What would it be like, he wondered, to work alongside her- having adventures- being able to give her alligator eyes and kisses and maybe other things. Maybe deeper things.

"Well I always did like the strong silent type," she said awkwardly and Ace realized he probably should have said something, but he had no words to give her. She rested her fingers against his shoulder and leaned up to press a kiss against his cheek.

"I have to get going," she said. "But come see me in three days time and I'll show you how fun it can be okay?"

"Okay…" he said. He wasn't sure what she meant by it but who cared if he got to see her again. Her smile faded a little as if that wasn't the answer she was looking for. When she smiled again it seemed forced.

"Okay! Until then… Oh…but just…" She blew her hair out of her eyes. "Listen, this is just because what you want and I want is the same… Going out. Freedom. It has nothing to do with… with you know…" She looked away, digging her foot against the ground. "With you know …this." She waved a hand. "Us hanging out." She canted her head to the side. "I'm not a-" She stopped, pressed her lips together, then gave him another tight smile. "Even if you say no, I'll still like you."

"You like me?" Ace realized he'd started grinning like an idiot but couldn't seem to stop it.

"Of course I do, idiot," she said, punching his arm. "Why do you think I go to all this trouble?" And she gestured at the picnic basket, or maybe her dress. He wanted to ask if that meant she was his lady friend but just the thought of saying something like that aloud made him want to curl up in a hole and cover his head. Still he had to do something instead of grin at her happily.

She liked him.

She _liked_ him.

He felt a little giddy.

But no wait. Focus.

"I like you, too." And then realized this would be the perfect time, dug the barrette from his pocket, thrusting it at her. "Here. Uh… For you."

"Gosh what a romantic. I'm swept right off my feet," she said dryly and Ace flushed, wondering if she was only teasing or if he'd done something wrong somehow.

"I'm kidding," she said softly. Kissing him and pulling away before he could lean into it. She took the barrette and ran her thumb over it before putting it in her hair. "It's beautiful, Bjorn thank you."

"Welcome," he said. The pink coral really looked good against the red of her hair. It stood out like tiny roses and he wanted to touch them. To touch her. To pull her close and…and just hold on for a while. He reached for her but she moved away, switching her finger at him.

"Don't start. I have to go." But she pressed her hand to her lips and blew a kiss at him. "I'll see you in three days, Bjorn. Don't forget."

"I won't."

He shoved his hands in his pockets, a little disappointed, but even that eased as he watched her walk away toward the village. It was such a nice view it was hard to be disappointed in anything.

When she was gone he turned back toward the sea, sucking in a deep breath of sea air and smelling all the promise of adventure and danger in it. A Merchant-Adventurer huh? It was nothing he'd ever dreamed of but then he'd never had the opportunity before. Could he really do something like that? It would probably make Jiijii happy. At least a little. Would Luffy be disappointed in him for going for something so lame? There was no fame to be had in that kind of thing. No one to know his name. No one to see his mark. Other than maybe as a really good merchant. He was pretty sure he didn't want that kind of life. He was pretty sure he would _never_ want that kind of life…

But when he thought about sailing along with her and seeing her eyes flash-or maybe making things with hammer and nails or maybe pistols roaring in her hands… or maybe pressing him down in the dark…he couldn't help but smile.

He was pretty sure he didn't want to…

But maybe…


End file.
